


Learning to Live Again

by Colonel_Edd



Series: Home is where the Heart is [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, Multi, Twisting Canon around my little finger, return of the alien tortoises
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2020-01-02
Packaged: 2020-04-07 19:43:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 69,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19091815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Colonel_Edd/pseuds/Colonel_Edd
Summary: Covering series 2 of my Twisted Torchwood, this story follows the team on their journey now that Ianto is back home with his memories intact. Throw in a little time vortex mishap and a serious case of stubborn Jones syndrome and they’re in for a bumpy ride!





	1. He’s behind you

The hub was silent, and not the type of silent that meant it was empty. Instead this silence carried a weight to it, it was a tense silence full of awkwardness and unspoken words. It was fair to say that the team hated these silences and hated how often they were occurring lately even more. If they had thought finding Ianto was a daunting task it was nothing compared to dealing with Jack in his absence.

Ever since their Captain had returned home to find his lover missing he had been reckless and even more insufferable than usual. He had been a liability in the field and just because they all knew about his little party trick now didn’t mean that they found it easy to cope when they saw Jack die right in front of them. Several times. It had only gotten worse as time went on, as the days and weeks crawled by with no new leads their boss’ condition only worsened.

He had fallen into a pit of despair and he wasn’t climbing out.

At first the search for their missing team member had been strong, they were all determined to find him and worked harder than ever before to find some sort of clue as to where he had gone but as time passed they began to lose hope one by one. It had been almost a month now and they had no new leads.

“Thank god” Owen threw his scalpel down with a relieved sigh as Tosh’s computer pinged with an alert for them, the hub was suffocating him. He’d take on ten weevils blindfolded if it meant he could escape the oppressive atmosphere, “Anything good Tosh?”

Tosh relaid the information to him and Gwen, there was no point calling Jack from his office when he was in one of his worser moods, they could handle this without him, “Sightings of a man wearing a blowfish mask, stole a car. I think it’s our guy” he had arrived a few days ago via the rift but had escaped capture when he killed Jack, “I’ve got a lock on to the cars coordinates, we should leave now while we have a chance of catching up to him”

“Well, lets go then” Gwen jumped to her feet and followed Owen to the garage, they had work to do.

Ianto would want them to carry on, not stay stagnant like Jack was. In fact Toshiko was pretty sure her friend would be slapping Jack round the back of the head and telling him to grow a pair right about now if he were here. God she missed Ianto, he’d only been part of the team for half a year but he was part of the family.

Owen took the lead and slipped into the drivers seat, thinking along similar lines to Tosh as his eyes drifted to the empty air freshener Ianto had installed with glee when he was still fairly new to the century, he’d been so happy to be able to actually do something and interact with modern tech. He had to come back, he always has done before even if it takes him a little while. He knew as well as the sky was blue that Ianto would find his way back to them, to Jack. Christ they were like fucking time magnets or something, what are the chances he’s be sucked through the rift and land somewhere jack was still waiting for him?

“Take the next left” Tosh directed him and Owen snapped back into work mode, he could be maudlin later right now he had a job to do

“Hold on tight ladies,” He yanked the steering wheel and made a sharp left, “We’re in for a bumpy ride” who says Jack was the only one who could drive like a madman?

-

Ianto entered the Tardis with a furious expression, he was no amused. Drenched in dirty alien sea water from head to toe, shivering and enraged, he didn’t want to go on any more bloody trips through time and space, he just wanted to go home. Martha had been allowed to go home but he’d been kept captive aboard the ship. He could almost see why the master had chosen death, he hated being a prisoner. 

The Doctor was happy though, he liked Ianto and thought he was hilarious, “Hey, turn that frown upside down, its not everyday a Glagorian mother whale tries to procreate with something other than her own species, you should be flattered.”

Ianto was most certainly not flattered and told The Doctor as much, “Flattered? Are you out of your mind? I’m not flattered! I wasn’t wasn’t flattered when I was arrested for public indecency on in the market place on Jupiters 107th moon,” all because his hands were showing which for a human on that particular moon might as well have been his bare arse, “I wasn’t flattered when you dragged me out of the Tardis to go see roman gladiators battle only to become a hunk of meat for them to fight over, I wasn’t flattered to almost become a home for eggs of giant killer spiders from space and I am not bloody flattered that a flipping Glagorian Whale apparently wanted to mate with me.” Ianto was panting by the end of his rant and still boiling with rage, ”I just wanted to go home” he gritted out between his teeth

Shocked and a little speechless, The Doctor shifted from foot to foot nervously, “You can’t go home yet” he told the angry man, “The shard of vortex inside you isn’t stable, if you get too close to Jack it could splinter and explode out of you, wiping out half the planet”

Eyes narrowing, Ianto shook his head, “Nope, I call bullshit” he normally wasn’t one to cuss but he thought the situation warranted it, “Take me home, now”

“Fine,” The Doctor crossed his arms, “I have no idea what will happen if I took you back right now but you need to stay here a little longer so I can figure it out”

“No” Ianto dug his heels in, “I want to go home, take me home Doctor, _right now_ ” he pointed at the Tardis doors threateningly, “I’ll walk out into space and suffocate if you try and keep me prisoner, I swear to God. I’d rather die than stay prisoner again”

Wide eyed, The Doctor held his hands out in surrender, “Okay,” he agreed, “I’ll take you back to Cardiff”

Ianto sagged with relief, “Thank you”

The shard of vortex -or whatever The Doctor was calling it- inside of him had stumped the doctor for weeks now, Ianto was glad he’d finally given up and was letting him go home. He wasn’t a science experiment thank you very much. He’d let Owen run a few tests once he got back home just to be sure and if he followed The Doctors logic everything should go back to normal between him and Jack.

The timelord had explained the pain he’d been feeling when in close proximity to Jack was the shard of vortex inside of him trying to return to Jack’s body but now his lover had forgotten the year and returned to the state he was in before the transfer of energy had happened, they should be fine. The vortex inside of Jack was a whole unit and the shard inside of him was too small to really be important. 

Ianto wasn’t immortal, he didn’t acquire superpowers or a surplus of extra limbs (thank god), he felt the same as ever. He was just plain old Ianto, the Doctor explained that he might just not get colds as often or heal paper cuts a little quicker. Nothing to worry about, as long as Jack didn’t do whatever he’d done again.

Easier said than done since Ianto didn’t know what had trigger the transfer in the first place. He just had to be careful, that’s all.

-

A dark nights sky blanketed the streets as an old woman came to a stop at a pedestrian crossing, she had just reached out to press the button when a sports car came to a halt, letting her go past. That in itself wasn’t that unusual, it was the driver that startled her momentarily as behind the wheel sat a well dressed man with an exotic fishes head. He waved her across the road impatiently and roared away once she had crossed safely.

“Excuse me,” a big black car pulled up beside her before she could continue making her way home, “Have you seen a Blowfish driving a sports car?” She pointed down the road and the woman in the car smiled at her and drove off, “Thank you”

“Bloody Torchwood.” She muttered to herself as she watched the car race off down the road, typical.

Inside the SUV Tosh was reading off her screen as Owen jostled them around recklessly, “Species not on record. DNA type says some sort of land fish.”

“All I'm saying is, you are speeding and there are children.” Gwen pointed out for the third time as Owen blatantly drove over double the speed limit

Owen scoffed and paid her no attention, “Well, if kids are out at midnight, they've got it coming”

“Detecting high levels of algae.” Tosh told them, speaking more to herself as they weren’t really listening

“Who's afraid of the big scary fish, then?” Gwen teased Owen who gave her a pointed look

“Big fish with a gun” getting his head in the game, Owen turned back to Tosh and asked, “Special weapons?”

Tosh shook her head and checked her screens, “Not that I can see”

“Do we need special weapons?” He tried again, “What are we gonna do when we catch it?”

Tosh wasn’t sulking as much as she was complaining, “Jack would know” when Jack had come back she had expected him to continue on just like always, not grind to a halt and leave them hanging still

“Yeah, well, Jack's not here, is he?” Owen huffed, checking his mirrors, “Jack’s moping back in the hub. Fat lot of good Jack is-”

Gwen interrupted with a shout, pointing just ahead of them “Blowfish!”

“Hold on” Owen warned them as he sped up even more, giving chase through the streets, “Hold the wheel” he told Gwen, repeating himself when she didn’t do as he said, “Hold the wheel.”

Unbelievingly, Gwen looked at him with wide eyes, “Don't you dare, Owen.”

“Hold the wheel!” He snapped, already half way out of the window

Left without a choice, Gwen leant across and started steering, “Right, got it” She tried not to jostle Owen too much as he started taking shots at the sports car in front of them, the last thing she wanted was for him to fall out of the damn car even though it would teach him a bloody lesson.

Owen managed to hit a tyre and made the car swerve dangerously as he climbed back inside the SUV with a satisfied and slightly smug grin, “Oh come on, tell me you’re not impressed”

“I’m not impressed” Gwen let him take back the wheel as they caught up with the sports car which was now abandoned by the side of the road, “Where is it? Where's it gone?”

Owen and Tosh looked around at the nearby houses as gunshots rang out, “That one,”” Owen pointed, already running, “Go, come on, go!”

-

“Here we are, Cardiff, Earth, 21st century” The Doctor looked the flight sick Ianto up and down a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t about to throw up all over his Tardis, “Try not get into too much trouble”

“Goodbye Doctor” Ianto rolled his eyes and made his way towards the doors without looking back, he just wanted to go home

Of course, the Doctor couldn’t just let him leave without getting the last word, “Ianto,” he called, making Ianto turn by the doors to listen. Ianto expected him to look disapproving or judgmental but instead the Timelord looked almost regretful, “Take care of Jack for me, would you?” Ianto nodded once, stiffly and left without another word, closing the blue doors on behind him with an air of finality. If he never saw The Doctor ever again it would still be too soon.

Only, once he took a confident step away from the time machine into the cold night air he realised he had no idea where he was, “Fantastic” he groaned looking around desperately for any sort of indication as to where he was. 

The one he did find though didn’t fill him with joy, Jack’s SUV was parked and empty on the side of the road. He knew it was Jack’s because it had the word Torchwood proudly engraved on the side of it. What trouble had he found himself in now?

-

Owen ran into the house and saw the husband was lying unconscious on the floor while the blowfish held the wife as a human shield in front of himself, “Gwen, go left, Tosh go right” he ordered as he took centre himself. 

He kept his gun trained on the fish as Gwen pushed a second young woman out of harms way, “Massive levels of adrenalin,” Tosh was reading off her handheld scanner, “mixed with approximately three grammes of cocaine. This fish is wired.”

“So, this is Team Torchwood” The blowfish had his back to the windows and so didn’t notice the curtains twitching as he monologued, “The teacher's pets. But teacher's not here, hasn't he? Leaving the kiddy kids all alone to do the dirty work”

Owen glanced at Tosh and nodded subtly at the curtains behind the blowfish as a showed entered through the windows. Looks like Jack had decided to turn up after all but subtly wasn’t usually his style.

“And look at you, trying so hard to be all grown up. The carer, with her oh-so-beating heart. The technician, with her cold devices. Which leaves me with the doctor, hands that should be used to heal now used to harm. All of you, lost without your master. All of you, pretending to be so brave. All of you, so scared.” The blowfish kissed his hostage and looked back at the team with wild, crazed eyes, “So, what about it, minion? Can you do it? How good are you? How sharp is your aim? What if you kill her? What if I kill her first? Can you shoot before I do? Can you? Dare you? Would you? Won't y-?”

The figure behind the curtains launched out and dived at the blowfish from behind, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back violently, causing him to drop his weapon and crash to the ground with a surprised grunt. His hostage made a run for it and hid with Gwen who was already reaching out for her as she cried.

It was only as Owen went to assist the man who was clearly not Jack that he realised who the hell it was, “Ianto?” The man was scuffling with the blowfish and didn’t look up until he had a decent hold of him, “What the fuck?!”

“Owen,” Ianto seemed just as surprised to find him there and nodded down at the wiggling blowfish, “Can I get a hand here?”


	2. Reunited and it feels so Good

Once Owen and Ianto had the blowfish bound, unconscious and locked in the back of the SUV they didn’t have to wait long for Gwen and Tosh to finish retconning the women. Ianto knew the calm wouldn’t last long and sure enough as soon as they were all together again hell broke lose, “Where the hell have you been?!” Gwen demanded angrily as she shoved Ianto, nearly knocking him over, “You disappeared off the face of the earth for a whole month and think you can just walk back in without so much as a hello?”

“Wait, a month?” Ianto was going to strangle the Doctor if he ever saw him again, he had one job, take him home. How hard was that? Holding his hands out wide in surrender, Ianto wasn’t sure how to explain, “It’s complicated”

“We can’t do this here,” Owen interrupted, don’t get him wrong he was bloody furious and wanted answers as well but they had an alien locked in the boot and needed to get back to the hub, “Get in the car, he can explain on the way”

Ianto did as he was told, pushing down the sudden urge to cry as he was reunited with everyone again. It had been so long since they were all in the same place, safe and not in mortal peril, “I came back as soon as I could,” Ianto tried not to stare too obviously at Owen’s unscarred face, it was jarring to see his skin so smooth an unmarked after months of growing accustomed to the facial scars he’d sustained during the year, “What date is it?”

“29th of June” Tosh told him as he sat next to her in the back of the SUV, “What happened to you? You look…”

“Bloody awful” Owen supplied and he wasn’t wrong, Ianto’s hair was long and matted, he was in desperate need of a shave and lets just say a year long diet of ration packs had left his physique wanting, “Looks like you’ve been in the wars” he stalled out for a second and gave Ianto a double take, “Hang on, you didn’t end up back in the forties again did you?”

“No, nothing like that” Ianto shook his head, “I don’t, I can’t tell you everything, um, timelines and stuff” complete bollocks but they didn’t need to know that, he wasn’t about to burden them with the knowledge they so fortunately had the privilege of forgetting, “Just know I’ve been gone a lot longer than a month on my end” he forced a smile and wiped his eyes as inconspicuously as possible, “It’s great to see you all again.”

“It’s great to see you too you daft sod” Gwen huffed as Tosh gave him a hug in the back seat, “Jack’s going to be so pissed he missed you tackling a blowfish though”

Ianto leapt on that piece of information, “Jack’s back? He’s alright?” If the doctor had brought him back a month after the rewind he dreaded to think what Jack had thought in his absence

“Oh right, of course you don’t know” Tosh clued him in, “He came back from his travels with The Doctor a few days after Saxon assassinated president Winters and you disappeared” Tosh informed him, “Wasn’t too happy you were missing, none of us were”

“Dianne had the baby as well,” Owen caught him up, “A boy, we called him-”

“Nathan” Ianto couldn’t help himself, the look of shock on Owens face was well worth it, “He’s a strapping young lad”

Glaring at him through the rear view mirror, Owen warned him, “If you pop up in the future I swear to god-”

“So if you can’t tell us where you went, can you tell us how long you were gone?” Gwen questioned as she took in the state of him, “Or what you were doing, in vague terms?”

Shrugging, Ianto looked out the window and mentally counted the seconds until they’d arrive back in the hub, “A few months” he hedged, “I was… helping”

“Helping what? Blend in with the homeless?” Owen pushed, “I’ll be taking a look at you once we get back to the hub so you might as well spill, I’ll be able to tell”

“It’s not important, I don’t want to talk about it.” Ianto’s word was final and nobody was in the mood to challenge him, “All that matters is I’m back now and I never want to leave again”

“Okay Ianto” Tosh took his hand between both of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, she couldn’t quite believe he was back, “You’re safe now, back home”

Ianto hung back as Gwen and Tosh took the unconscious blowfish down to the cells, letting Owen drag him down to the medical bay without much protest. Jack wasn’t in, he’d been told his lover had taken to brooding on rooftops more often lately and was impatient for him to return so he could get his bloody reunion hug, “Okay, it’s just me now” Owen was prepping his equipment, “You can tell me where you went”

“The end of the world as we know it,” Ianto sighed as Owen gave him a double take, “You really don’t want to know Owen, believe me”

“Okay, fine don’t tell me then” He rolled his eyes as he brandished his scanner in front of him, “Lets take a look at you then, shirt off” Too exhausted to be embarrassed, Ianto slid his shirt off and raised an eyebrow at Owens badly concealed gasp, “Sorry, but what the fuck Ianto? You were gone a lot longer than a few months”

“A year” he admitted

Owen gawped at him, “A year?!”

“Shh” Ianto shushed him as the girls made their way back to the far side of the main hub, allowing him some privacy, “Yes a year, don’t go shouting about it. Just do your checks and I can be on my way” what he wouldn’t give for a real working shower right about now

Making notes as he went, Owen worked his way down the list of injuries Ianto had sustained over the year. Most of them hadn’t left lasting marks thanks to the shard of vortex energy inside him but he did have a scar from the bullet wound that almost killed him that he’d received while trying to break Jack out from the Valiant. He was also malnourished and had lost most of his muscle mass, “Bloody hell Ianto, you should be on immediate bed rest not tackling aliens”

“I’m fine, really” Ianto waved him off as he buttoned his shirt back up, “Did you notice anything strange on a molecular level?”

“Nope, should I have?” Owen frowned as he doubled checked his results

Ianto was in the middle fo debating with himself over how much he should tell the medic when he heard the cogdoor wheel open. He couldn’t feel the familiar tingle of Jack’s presence and visibly slumped with relief, looks like the vortex was going to behave itself from now on, “Can I go?” He checked with the medic and hurried upstairs when he was given the all clear

Jack’s back was turned, his shoulders looked tense even under the coat as he spoke with Gwen, “What do you mean you got some help? Who?”

Dramatics were more Jack’s thing than his own but for once Ianto let himself indulge, “We’ve got to stop meeting like this Captain”

Jack span around so fast it was a surprise he didn’t get whiplash, at first all he could do was gape, then his eyes turned cold, “Owen, is it him?”

“Yes,” he should have brought popcorn, this was better than anything he could watch on TV, “It’s definitely him”

Ianto barely got to see his lovers eyes thaw out before he was engulfed in perhaps the most anticipated embrace of his life, he let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding as he burrowed further into Jack’s chest. The last part of him finally clicked into place and Ianto truly felt at home at last. Jack might have been clinging to him desperately but Ianto was no better, his knuckles were going white from how tightly he was gripping Jack’s greatcoat and he allowed the first tears to fall as he hung his head safely in the crook of Jack’s neck.

“Ianto, Ianto” Jack’s hands were running all over him but it wasn’t sexual in nature, it was as if he was making sure his lover was still in one piece as they clung together tightly, “Ianto, oh it’s really you” Jack pulled back just far enough so he could kiss him, Ianto wasn’t about to complain as his hands slid up to cup Jack’s cheeks. The kiss reminded him of the one they had shared on the plane when he first arrived in the future only this time he was kissing back just as desperately instead of pushing Jack away.

At some point the rest of the team had scuttled off to allow them a medium of privacy because when Ianto pulled away to breath he saw they were alone, “I love you,” he told Jack as they held each other close, “God Jack I love you so much, I was so scared you wouldn’t be here” tears were leaking out of his traitorous eyes by now but Ianto couldn’t find it in himself to care as he practically hung off Jack’s larger frame, “I just-”

“Hey, hey come here” Jack pulled Ianto back so they were pressed together from head to toe, he immediately noticed the difference in his lovers body, the longer hair was hard to miss but he felt like skin and bone under his clothes, “What happened to you?”

Ianto sniffed and soaked up the comfort Jack was offering him, revelling in the feeling of Jack’s arms without the sharp stinging that had plagued him before, “I missed you” he didn’t answer the question, he might never answer that question but he spoke the truth, “I missed you so much” while they had been together it hadn’t been the same

“I’m right here” Jack petted his hair as the rift alarm went off, “What now?”

-

On a rooftop car park downtown a man in a red coat stepped through small rift and smiled at the scene in front of him. A man was in the process of getting mugged, it must be his lucky day!

“Get off! I didn't do it. Please, leave me alone.” The victim saw him approach and called out, “Help me.”

The Mugger glared at the man and warned him to stay away, “Come any closer and I'll open up his neck”

“Fine” The man shrugged, “Which artery do you normally sever?” He grinned as both the victim and the mugger seemed confused

“I'm not bluffing” The mugger waved his knife around but that only made the man grin widen

“Oh. Well, see now you've given yourself away” he chided, “Only someone who's bluffing ever says they're not.” He lifted the mugger off his feet by his throat and proceeded to dangle him over the parapet.

“Oh, God.” The mugger choked, “Shit. Please, please stop.”

The man paused for a second, giving the mugger hope before he cocked his head to one side, “Well, no” and dropped the criminal to his death

The man who had been in the process of being mugged cautiously approached and looked over the edge, “He's dead” he stated the obvious and almost shat himself as his would be saviour gripped the front of his shirt, “Please”

“I was never here.” The murderer let him go and shooed him away, “Go” he watched the man run away and cracked his neck, “I'm thirsty now”


	3. I understood that reference

Jack sent Owen, Gwen and Tosh to investigate the rift spike since Ianto was in no condition to join them and he was in no condition to leave Ianto. For once they didn’t even grumble and left quickly to go see what was happening downtown, hopefully once they returned Jack and Ianto would have sorted things between them and they could all work towards getting things back to normal.

“Come on, lets sit down” Jack led Ianto into his office and pulled him into his lap on the sofa behind his desk, “I still can’t believe you’re back… where did you go?” He couldn’t help but maintain contact with him, Jack was scared if he let go Ianto would disappear again, he didn’t have the best track record after all.

“Your Doctor had something to do with it” Ianto told him simply, he wasn’t going to burden Jack with knowledge of The Year just like he knew Jack wouldn’t if their roles were reversed but he could tell him that much.

Jack’s eyes widened by a fraction at that, “You’ve met The Doctor?” He tried not to feel hurt that The Doc had taken Ianto on an adventure without him but it still stung that he had been abandoned without answers for a second time, “When?”

“A while ago now, I’m not a fan” Ianto didn’t mince his words, “I don’t like him and if I ever see his face in the 21st century again I swear to god he will go running back inside that Tardis of his with a bullet hole in him”

“Wow, okay not what I was expecting” Jack played with Ianto’s longer hair idly, “Where did you go?”

“Everywhere really, and nowhere” Ianto sighed as he shook his head, “I don’t want to talk about it, I want to forget it ever happened” like he would ever forget, “I’m sure Martha will tell you if you ask, or Chantho”

Now that was just weird, “You’ve met Chantho?” Jack pulled back with a frown, “And Martha? I haven’t seen Martha since I got back”

“I told her to find you” Ianto pushed his fringe out of his eyes and resisted the urge to pull it all out, “Chantho can’t have gone far, you’d have gotten a hundred reports of a blue alien walking the streets of London if she went outside”

“True,” Jack affectingly pushed Ianto’s longer hair behind his ear as he saw it was irritating him and cupped his cheek gently, “But right now I don’t want to think about Martha or Chantho, I want to-” Jack was interrupted as his wrist strap beeped loudly between them, “Huh”

“That never beeps” Ianto looked down at the leather strap thoughtfully, not once in the years he had known Jack nor the few weeks he’d had the device in his own possession, had it ever beeped

Jack had to concede his point, “That’s what I was thinking”

-

“Fragments of Rift energy around the neck, arm and shoulders.” Tosh was reading off her results as Owen examined the body the police had found

Gwen looked up at the three storey rooftop car park, “So he was grabbed and pushed?”

Tosh rubbed her hands together to fight off the cold and nodded along with Gwen’s theory, “Explains the residual energy cluster” Cardiff nights were brutal, even in the summer, she should have worn a coat

“So, there's a potential killer on the loose.” Owen summed up as he finished his examination, “Bipedal, maybe humanoid”

Piecing together the puzzle, Gwen unwrapped he scarf from around her neck and handed it to Tosh without conscious thought, “Any other alien tech involved, Tosh?”

“No readings to suggest that.” Tosh smiled, “Thanks”

Owen sniffed and lifted up the police tape for the girls to duck under, “Okay, let's get back and see what we can piece together. Maybe Jack or Ianto have something new back in the hub”

“Thank you, Andy. You can let SOCO in now, and they can eliminate us from whatever they want.” Gwen turned back at the last minute as she followed Owen and Tosh back towards the SUV

Andy followed after her curiously, “This another one of your spooky-dos, is it?”

“Not yet,” Gwen told him distractedly as she checked her phone for any news off Rhys, “but I'll let you know.”

Left alone on the side of the crime scene as his old parter swaggered off towards the flash SUV parked illegally by the side of the road, Andy huffed to himself, “Thanks, Andy. You've been very helpful. Don't mention it, Gwen.” Must be nice being above it all now, he thought to himself as he returned to his post, it wouldn’t kill them to be a little more polite every now and then, would it?

-

“Open it then” Ianto nudged Jack with his knee as he slid off his lap back in the hub, “Must be important”

Jack grudgingly admitted he was right and flipped his vortex manipulator open, “Let’s have a look shall we?” he pressed a series of buttons and a holographic image of a man he had hoped never to see again appeared in front of him.

_“I can't believe I got the answer machine. What can you be doing that's more important than me? Anyway, you've probably traced the energy shift, found the body. All me. Sorry about the mess. Bill me for the clean up. Now. Drinks. Retrolock the transmission coordinates, that's where I am. And hurry up. Work to do. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.”_

The message ended and Jack expected many things from Ianto, maybe he would demand to know who it was leaving him a message, or exclaim that the technology was mind blowing, even an outburst of jealousy would have been less surprising than the small proud smile he saw gracing his lovers lips, “Ianto?”

“I understood that reference,” Ianto told him proudly, gesturing at the air the hologram had just been occupying, “Star Wars”

Thrown for six, “Well yes,” Jack hedged, “You did hear the part about him killing someone, right?”

“Yes,” the smile disappeared immediately and was replaced with a look of professionalism, “You’re not going to meet him on your own”

“You’re not going to try talk me out of going in the first place?” Jack asked

Ianto glared at the strand of hair that kept falling in front of his eyes, “I know you better than that, let me get cleaned up and I’ll join you”

“Whoa, hold your horses” Jack grabbed his wrist as he stood up, “You’re in no state to-”

Yanking his arm away, Ianto counted to ten in his head and insisted, “I’m fine” he had dealt with worse, no mysterious figure from Jack’s past was going to stop him. He’d survived the year from hell, he could handle a rendezvous, “I can handle myself”

“I never said you couldn’t, but Ianto,” Jack knew he needed word this carefully, “I can’t have you with me in the field, John will try and manipulate the situation once he finds out you’re my weak point.”

“So now I’m weak?” Ianto knew he was overreacting but he just wanted everyone to stop fussing, he wanted everything to go back to how it was before and that meant not being handled with children’s gloves, “I’m a weakness now? A liability?”

Peeved, Jack struggled to keep a lid on his temper, “Of course not, don’t twist my words”

“Great, so we’re agreed” Ianto crossed his arms, “I’ll go clean up and then we can go, better not keep your friend waiting”

Not wanting to start a fight, Jack let Ianto go and hung his head once he was left alone. He didn’t want Ianto anywhere near John, it could only end badly. He was so damn happy to have him back and yet it still felt like Ianto was holding back, what could have possibly happened while he was away that Ianto felt he couldn’t share with him? Didn’t he know by now that he loved him no matter what? He just wanted Ianto to be honest with him, he couldn’t help unless he knew the full story.

Ianto only registered the issue once he was stood in front of the shower block, ever since he escaped the Valiant after his extended stay he hadn’t had the best relationship with water. Almost being drowned repeatedly did that to a person, “Come on,” he psyched himself up under his breath, he needed to get clean, “It’s just water”

But it wasn’t just water, it was a reminded of something he was desperate to forget. Ianto didn’t handle lack of control well, he liked routine and structure, he liked the feeling of security that control gave him. So to say he was still reeling from his time aboard the Valiant would be a severe understatement but he didn’t have time to work himself up. He had to pull himself together, take a shower and go investigate Jack’s murderous friend.

-

Tosh frowned at her screens in the backseat of the SUV, “Guys, there are some reports coming in of a bar disturbance.”

“Not our jurisdiction Tosh” Owen told her, half focusing on the road as he swerved around a biker, “Let the bobbies deal with it”

“I’m also detecting a trace of rift energy,” Tosh raised an eyebrow and passed her PDA to Gwen so she could see as well, “Leading to the same coordinates”

Gwen had gotten a lot better with tech since she joined the team, she was no Tosh but she could keep up if the genius went slow enough, “She’s right, we’d better check it out Owen”

Huffing, Owen glanced over to see where he was going now and jerked the wheel sharply, “Fine, don’t say I never take you girls anywhere nice” he just wanted to get home to Dianne and Nathan, domesticity suited him far better than he would ever let on.

-

Jack tried not to frown when Ianto came rushing back dressed in clothes that no longer fit him with damp hair and chattering teeth, “You okay?”

“Peachy,” Ianto stopped by Gwen’s desk and rummaged around for a hair tie, choosing a plain black one hidden underneath a multitude of rainbow bands, “Come on”

So they weren’t talking about the elephant in the room then, fine, “You could always leave it down,” Jack quipped, “You look like a sexy pirate”

It was ridiculous really, you would think after everything Ianto had been through, after having years to grow used to Jack’s relentless flirting, he would have grown out of his boyish blushing but here he was with rosey cheeks yet again, “You’re utterly ridiculous”

“All part of my charm,” Jack slid an arm around Ianto’s waist as he caught up, concerned when he felt just how badly Ianto was shaking but not wanting to start another fight, “Come on, the sooner I send John packing the sooner I can take you home and warm you up”

Not wanting to admit the shivering had nothing to do with being cold and everything to do with the panic attack he’d just had in the shower, Ianto did his best to relax into Jack’s hold and keep up the banter, “As if I needed anymore encouragement”


	4. Partners

Ianto had been reluctant to stay outside when Jack asked him to, it’s not that he didn’t trust his partner to be alone with his ex but the thought wasn’t very comforting once you remember his ex has just killed a man. He had agreed though and let Jack go in by himself against his better judgment. Besides, it was easier to agree and let Jack go in alone than argue over it and end up with the same result, it’s not as if Ianto planned on staying outside for long anyway.

So, when after three minutes of dithering by the door Ianto finally entered the bar, he was concerned to find Jack in a stalemate, a gun to his head even as he held one to Johns, not that the other man seemed to care as he taunted Jack, “You're putting on weight.” Ianto felt offended on Jack’s behalf, even if he had put on a little padding round the middle it was nothing to be ashamed of. He preferred it actually.

“You're losing your hair.” Jack shot back as Ianto crouched down behind an overturned table and chair, he had the gun he’d taken from the SUV and wasn’t afraid to use it if necessary.

Clearly they both wanted the last word, “What are you wearing?”

“Captain Jack Harkness,” Jack sniped, “note the stripes.”

Unimpressed, John smirked, “Captain John Hart, note the sarcasm.”

“Hey, I worked my way up through the ranks”

“I bet the ranks were very grateful” he taunted suggestively before lowering his weapon, “I need a drink.”

“I thought you'd never ask.” Jack lowered his weapon too and it was only a discreet glance in Ianto’s direction that let him know he’d been foiled. Still, not much Jack could do about it now.

-

When Owen slowly pushed the bar doors open he wasn’t expecting to find Ianto crouched behind a table holding a gun looking like he’d swallowed a lemon, “Hey,” Owen whispered as he slid over, “How’d you get here? You’re supposed to be resting” He’s sent Gwen and Tosh round the back entrance but it didn’t look like Jack and his new friend would notice anytime soon as they caught up

“What am _I_ doing here,” Ianto looked at him with wide, incredulous eyes, “What are _you_ doing here?”

Stubborn bastard, Owen whispered, “My job”

When Ianto didn’t reply, Owen turned his attention back to Jack and his new friend, they were drinking heavily from a couple of bottles of alcohol and as per Jack’s usual, talking nonsense, “So, how was rehab?”

“Rehabs.” John corrected with a smirk as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “Plural” 

Jack listed them off on his fingers, “Drink, drugs, sex and…”

“Murder.”

“Ha!” Jack laughed, “You went to murder rehab?”

“I know.” John sniggered, this was going better than he had planned, “Ridiculous. The odd kill, who does it hurt?”

“You clean now?” Jack asked even as he knew he wasn’t, he didn’t want anyone else to die in his city tonight by John’s hands

“Yeah,” John lied,“kicked everything. Living like a priest”

“So, how's the Time Agency?”

Not following, Owen leant closer to Ianto, “What’s the time agency?” If Jack had told anyone he would have told him

“Long story, bad news” Ianto whispered back as he adjusted his grip on his gun. Jack had told him a little about his time spent with the Agency before he met The Doctor and if this man was from there it couldn’t be good, “Keep your guard up” he warned

“It's good to see you,” John was still talking, “It was never the same without you.”

Jack could practically hear Ianto growling from his spot at the bar, if he wanted to avoid bloodshed he had to get John far away and as soon as possible, “You need to go. I don't want you on my territory.”

“What?” John’s eyes narrowed, “Time was you couldn't get enough of me on your territory.” Upholstering his gun, he shot three bullets at the doors at either end of the bar, he was done playing games, “All right, everybody out”

Gwen was the first to walk out, “Everything all right, Jack?”

“It's okay,” Jack held his hands out to try diffuse the situation as much as he could, Ianto looked like he was itching for a fight, “Okay”

John wasn’t doing himself any favours, “You've got a team. How sweet.” He didn’t seem to care Ianto still had a gun pointed at his head even as the rest of the team lowered their weapons, “Oh, pretty little friends. No blonde, though, you need a blonde.”

“God, he's worse than Jack” Owen groaned, he wasn’t getting home anytime soon, was he? Diane was going to chew him out big time for missing another dinner.

“Oh, oh, do you have a team name?” John looked between everyone, barely sparing them a glance before all his attention was back on Jack, “I love team names. Go on.”

Jack was fed up, he knew John was after something and wished he’d just spit it out, “Torchwood.”

“Oh. Not Excalibur? Blizzard? Bikini Cops?” John pouted, “No? Torchwood. Oh, dear.”

Jack figured he may as well do introductions, “Gwen Cooper, Toshiko Sato, Owen Harper, Ianto Jones meet-”

John interrupted and stepped closer to Jack, “Captain John Hart, we go back. Jack and I were partners” Ianto couldn’t hold in a snort and earned himself a glare from the time agent, “Something funny?”

“Oh no, sorry” Ianto refused to be intimidated by him, John might be Jack’s past but he was Jack’s future, “It’s just Jack’s never mentioned you,” he lied, “John did you say?”

“We were trapped together in a time loop for five years,” John boasted, “It’s safe to say we were together in every way, and then some. It was like having a wife.”

“Ha, Jack can’t clean to save his life” Ianto snorted as he finally lowered his weapon, John was no threat to him, “He’s a decent cook but apart from that it’s like living with a child-”

Coughing pointedly, Jack drew Johns attention away from Ianto and back on himself, the last thing he needed was John getting jealous and trying to kill Ianto, “What are you doing here?”

“I was wondering when we'd get to that.” John flipped open his vortex manipulator and started mashing the buttons

“That's the same as yours.” Tosh eyed it greedily, she’d been begging to take Jack’s apart for year but he’d always said no

Smirking, Jack nodded, “A little smaller.”

“But lasts much longer” John shot back, “Get two Time Agents in the same room together, it's always about the size of the wrist strap. Anyway” he projected a hologram of a canister in front of himself and started his story, “I'm working with this woman. Beautiful, clever, sexy, yadda yadda yadda, and we both get shot. And as she's dying, she begs me. She tells me about these radiation cluster bombs she'd been working on.”

“I don't like the sound of that.” Owen said, a fount of infinite wisdom

“Three canisters,” John told them, “contents beyond toxic, swallowed up in a rift storm.”

“And ended up here.” Tosh finished for him

John winked at her, “Bingo. That's the downside of your city being built on a rift in space and time. Now, left to their own devices, the radiation will break down the canisters and then infect your people and planet. They need to be neutralised.”

Jack wasn’t buying it, “What do you get out of this?”

“Dying woman's wish.” Even John knew that was a poor excuse but he hadn’t had much time to come up with something else, “Now, there's only one problem. I don't know where they are. Hoping local knowledge might help.”

“When we get back to the Hub, I can run a citywide scan on radiation surges and cross reference that with the Rift activity during that time span.” Tosh told Jack, confident that she would be able to do it

“What are you, the brains and the beauty?” John asked, clearly flirting even as Tosh paid him no attention, “You see, together it's an easy job.”

“We do this, you get of here when its finished” Jack didn’t like it but save from letting Ianto shoot him in the head, Jack couldn’t see a cleaner way to get rid of him, “Right away.”

“Does this mean I get to see your house?”

-

Jack had sent Ianto back to the Hub with the rest of the team and kept John separate from them as they traveled over in two groups. The less time John spent infecting his team the better, “Come on, this way” Jack led him across the Roald Dahl Plass and stopped by the water tower

“You live in a sculpture. Could you be any more pretentious?” John rolled his eyes as Jack tugged him to stand on a certain spot

“Get on.” Jack opened his own Vortex Manipulator and started activating the lift mechanism

John looked around as he did so, “So, your team not allowed in this way?”

“This is the entrance for tourists.” Jack told him

“I remember the last time you said that,” John startled as the slab began to descend, “Where the hell are we?” He looked around with wide eyes as he took the hub in, determined not to let Jack know that he was secretly impressed, “It's roomy, I'll give you that. Your taste in interior design hasn't got any better, though” He joked as they reached the bottom, “What is this, sewer chic?”

Paying John no attention, Jack stopped him as he went to step down off the stone, “Weapons.” No way was he letting John roam around with a gun, he remembered the days John used to murder as sport and couldn’t be sure he’d put that life behind him. He almost laughed when his old parter handed over two guns and his sword, “And the rest” he turned to chuck the weapons on the ground and was surprised to see Ianto waiting there with a silver platter. He hadn’t even known there was a platter like that in the hub, where the hell had he pulled that out from?

“Oh, you know me” John said, “I'm a two weapon man.”

Gwen was waiting on hand with one of Tosh’s scanners though and took great pleasure if exposing his bold-faced lie, “One pistol strapped to each leg, laser knife beneath left elbow, seventeen small explosive charges in the lining of his coat, do you want me to continue?” She was surprised when Ianto smiled warmly at her, laughter in his eyes. 

He looked proud and to be honest that shook her a bit. Sure in the run up to his disappearance they had been getting closer but… she couldn’t explain it, it just felt different between them now. As if Ianto had forged a new opinion of her, he was looking at her in a different light. Gwen didn’t know what she’d done to earn it and wasn’t going to ask, when you work for Torchwood you learn to roll with the punches.

“It slipped my mind.” John played ignorant as he handed over his weapons but Jack was no fool, he knew John could kill a man with a spoon given half the chance. He would have to keep a close eye on him.


	5. Verbal Tennis

“He's a compulsive liar.” Gwen had cornered Jack in his office back in the hub and was giving him a piece of her mind, the others might be slightly more willing to follow him blindly but she wanted to go into this with both eyes wide open. Ianto had told them John was bad news and she knew better than to question him, even when he was… in such a fragile state, “Why is he in the building?”

Jack sighed and crossed his arms, looking out of his glass walls to try and catch a glimpse of Ianto, no such luck, “There is the tiniest one percent chance he's breaking a habit of a lifetime and telling the truth” he told her, “Which means this city is in danger.”

“What did he mean by a Time Agent?” Gwen knew she was pushing it but was willing to bet Jack was just as tired as everyone else and just wanted this done with, “You've never mentioned it.”

“It’s not important, it’s all in the past” Jack wasn’t going to budge, ”Here and now, that's what's important. The work we do, the person I am now. That's what I'm proud of.”

“I get that, I do Jack, it’s just…” Gwen trailed off, not wanting to sound whinny, “Ianto knows. I get that he’s important, if I weren’t already engaged to Rhys I’d fight you for him myself-”

Jack held up a hand and stopped her there, “Gwen,” he asked, “Are you seriously telling me that you’re jealous that I confide in my partner instead of in you? Do you tell me sensitive information about your past, or do you tell Rhys?”

“Stop twisting my words,” Gwen crossed her arms, “That’s different and you know it, for one Rhys doesn’t work for Torchwood and it’s not like mysterious figures from my past keep popping up with the power to destroy the city if they so please. It’s not just me who wants to know, the whole team need to know what we’re dealing with and you’re keeping it a secret.”

Itching to go find Ianto, Jack tried to see things from Gwen’s point of view, “I understand you’re frustrated but me telling you about my past isn’t going to fix that, I need you to trust me on this Gwen.” He couldn’t see John out in the main hub either now, he needed to go find him before he found Ianto, “I can handle John and as soon as we finish this stupid egg hunt the sooner we can send him packing”

Gwen didn’t get the chance to further argue her point as Jack slid past her, looks like she was going back to Tosh and Owen with nothing, she had told them her experience as a copper wasn’t going to help with cracking Jack. That man was built like a vault, they weren’t getting any information out of him that he didn’t want them to.

“Tosh!” Jack rushed over to her and Owen as he fled his office, “Where’s John?” He’d told them to keep an eye on him and now he was gone, he should have known better

“He’s… shit” Owen span around with wide eyes, they’d dropped the ball, “We only looked away for a minute”

Worrying her lip, Tosh was at her computer immediately, “I can track him on the CCTV”

Jack couldn’t help but think by then it might be too late, “Where’s Ianto?” He needed to get to him now, who knows what torture John could be inflicting on him, his ex-partner never had liked being second best.

“Archives,” Owen told him, “Said he needed a break from the crazy, looked like it too” Jack barley waited for him to finish speaking before he shot off like a mad thing, tripping over himself in his haste to get down there

-

Ianto slipped away down to his archives when Gwen trapped Jack in his office, he needed a breather. Everything was happening so fast, he could barely keep up. He came back to before the year from hell, everyone was alive and happy, he had Jack back, the vortex had calmed down, he’d rugby tackled an alien blowfish, had a panic attack in the shower, followed Jack to a shoot out, met the infamous John Hart and now he was back in the hub.

He had barely been back three hours, it was safe to say he was feeling a little overwhelmed.

His archives were just as he remembered, if a little disorganised, “Hello again” he felt a little silly talking to the ancient filing cabinets but as he reached out to touch the cold metal he felt great comfort, so if he had to sound like a prat it was worth it.

He had thought he was alone in his sanctuary, so receiving a reply had startled him, “Hello eye candy” it was John, Ianto wasn’t sure how long he had been following him and kicked himself for letting his guard drop with such a man on the premises, “I can see why Jack likes you, those Bambi eyes really get the blood flowing”

“It’s not just my eyes” Ianto wouldn’t allow himself to be manipulated, “And I’d refrain from coming any closer if you know what’s good for you Mr Hart”

“It’s Captain actually,” John smiled and took a couple of steps forward as he finally met someone on this drab little planet who he could play with, most of them were so dull, Jackie had found himself one with some fire, “You like those, don’t you?”

“I only call one man Captain, and he isn’t you.” Ianto looked him up and down with a carefully crafted blank mask of indifference in place, “And I believe I issued you a warning about coming any closer _Mr_ Hart”

“Ooh, what’re you gonna do?” John smirked and took another step towards him, a dangerous glint in his eye.

Jack was running down the stairs when he heard a pained yelp from one of the storage rooms, furious and fully expecting to find John trying to murder Ianto he was surprised to find it was more like the other way around, “Ianto!” He had John pressed up against the wall, his arm tugged painfully behind his back to stop him moving, “Let him go”

“Yes sir” Ianto practically growled as he did as he was told, panting slightly from the exertion but trying not to let it show. He really needed to get back in shape.

“Oh Jackie please tell me you’ll share this one,” John groaned as he turned with an obvious bulge in his trousers, “I bet his mouth-”

Jack grabbed his arm and began dragging him away before Ianto could inflict anymore damage to him, “John, enough. Wait outside” he shoved him to walk in front of him and cast a quick glance back at Ianto, he looked fine if a little flushed, “Ianto, a word?”

“Oh, can I watch this bit?” John poked his head through the doorframe he had disappeared out of, “He's gonna give you all the dos and don'ts. I love it.”

“We'll be with you in a second.” Jack’s tone brooked no argument and John knew it, slouching off to wait outside the storage room, “Are you okay?” He looked Ianto up and down, just because there were no visible injuries doesn’t mean Ianto escaped John unscathed

“Peachy,” Ianto ran a hand down his face and pulled himself together, “I don’t know what came over me, sorry”

“It’s fine, John brings that sort of behaviour out of people” Jack assured him, “A word of advice though, there are three rules. One, don't believe anything he says. Two, always keep him in front of you. And three, under no circumstances let him kiss you.”

“As if I would” Ianto scoffed, the idea laughable. Yes he may admit deep within the darkest corners of his mind that John was conventionally attractive but he would never act on it.

John’s muffled voice came through the door, “Has he got on to the no kissing rule yet? He only invented that because he wants me all to himself”

“The team are waiting upstairs in the boardroom,” Jack gestured for Ianto to follow him, “Tosh should have found the canisters by now, come on”

-

“Seven hours ago, we logged a minor surge in Rift energy across three locations.” Tosh had the locations pinned on a map displayed through the projector, “I’m willing to be these are the canisters you’re looking for”

“Six of us, three locations, that's simple.” John kicked his feet up on top of the table and winked at Ianto as he glared at him, “Two people per canister.”

Jack was glaring at him as well now, yippe, “Excuse me, I give the orders.”

“Well, give some, big boy.” John taunted

“He’s right,” Ianto grumbled, “Makes sense to split up”

“See!” John crowed, “eye candy even agrees with me” 

“Call me that again” Ianto warned him icily as Jack sighed from the head of the table. He knew he was doing exactly what John wanted but he couldn’t help it

John batted his eyelashes at him, “You need to loosen up, I could help you with that”

Nobody was going to interrupt, they were watching the two men battle in verbal combat like it was a tennis match, “You know John, I’ve looked everywhere” Ianto told him

“What?”

“I searched through the archives,” he told him in complete deadpan, “the computer data base and even Myfanwy’s nest but I still couldn’t find where I asked for your opinion”

Silence fell across the table bar Owen’s little ‘ooh’ under his breath and John, unable to come up with anything clever to say back, turned to Jack instead, “The canisters?” Ianto should not have felt as proud as he did about besting John but if his teammates faces were anything to go by they were equally impressed.

“Tosh and Owen, take the north.” Jack frowned as he was faced with a difficult decision, he wanted Ianto to stay with him but he didn’t want to leave Gwen alone with John, “Er…”

Ianto cleared his throat and made a suggestion, “Gwen and I can take the west, you and _him_ go to the docks”

“You sure?” Jack asked, still frowning, “I can send Gwen with Owen and you can take Tosh with you”

“No, we should be fine” Ianto smiled at Gwen, “We make a good team” it was only when she looked back at him with a confused smile of her own that Ianto was again reminded that Gwen and he weren’t friends anymore. They didn’t hate each other but without her memories Gwen couldn’t know how close they had gotten and it hurt. Ianto swore to himself to rebuild their friendship, given half the chance Gwen had proven herself to be nothing shy of amazing.

“Okay,” Jack sounded confused as well but didn’t want to push the issue, “you and Gwen take the west then”

As everyone got up to leave, John clapped his hands, “Now, given the canisters are radioactive, don't open them, eh?”

“Let's go” Jack made John walk in front of him, following the very rules he created and focused on getting through the mission as efficiently as possible. He wanted John out of his hair, the sooner the better.


	6. Stomach Ache

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a short one today, but to make up for it I will also be adding a chapter tomorrow. Think of it like two smaller bite sized chapters one after the other

“So,” John looked Jack up and down as he was pushed in front to walk between the stacks of containers, “Got yourself a little 21st century piece of fluff” the drive over had been in silence and it always had been one of Johns favourite past times to wind Jack up.

“20th actually, and he’s not fluffy” Jack corrected him, at least, Ianto wasn’t fluffy for anyone but him, “So this woman, the one with the canisters, how did she die again?”

“Oh you know,” John bluffed, getting up in Jack’s personal space “Hazardous job, wrong place wrong time. God rest her soul”

Shoving the other man away as he groped him, Jack scoffed, “You don’t believe in god” he glanced around at the containers surrounding them, no clue which one held the canister, “This is gonna take a while” when he didn’t receive a reply, Jack turned around let out a groan when he saw John had disappeared, “John, I’m not in the mood for your games” he didn’t reply, “John?”

A little way ahead of him, Jack saw one of the previously locked container doors was slightly ajar. Now Jack was far from stupid, he could clearly see this was a trap. There was no way John was actually in there.

On the other hand, “Aha!” John’s voice came drifting out of the metal box, “Found it Jack”

“John?” Jack frowned, kicking the door open to find John holding the canister looking pleased with himself, “You found it then” that didn’t take long. He held a hand out to take the canister, not trusting his ex-partner not to just open it for shits and giggles, “I’ll take that”

“I don’t think so,” John pulled out a Torchwood issue gun and pointed it at him, “Sorry about this Jack, I want you to know I take no pleasure- okay well a little pleasure- in doing this” He lowered the gun slightly but kept a firm grip on it, “You could join me. Back in the old routine we'd be emperors. How can you stay tied to one planet when there's thousands of worlds sparkling with wonder? We should be up there, among the stars, claiming them for our own. Just like before.”

Jack’s expression was hard as stone as he denied him, “I can't.” He won’t

“Why not?” John snarled, flipping from pleading to dangerous in the blink of an eye, “What the hell is there to keep you here? Eye Candy? Come on. The glitter of the galaxy. The mischief we could make, we could bring our boy toy along if you insist, we could share”

Deciding to ignore his demeaning of Ianto for the time being, Jack refused him, “You know, you never really mastered that temptation spiel.”

“It's not a spiel.” John stated, “It's fact.”

Aware that John was trying to circle round him to make a break for the exit, Jack stood his ground by the doors of the container, “Move on. Here I am, in a new life and you're still churning out the same old tunes. And sorry, but they don't play as well now you're looking a little older. And what are they, wrinkles around your eyes?”

“Laugh lines” John snapped

“Oh, hell of a good joke.” Ianto wasn’t the only one with a sharp tongue around here

“It's you I'm laughing at.” He raised the gun and pointed it at Jack’s head, “Move, I’ll do it Jack, you know I will”

“You really don’t want to do that,” Jack took a step forward, “I-” John pulled the trigger and Jack fell backwards like a puppet with it’s strings cut, “Fuck” blood stained his shirt as it pumped out of the bullet wound in his stomach. John wavered at the container doors looking half pleased with himself and half disappointed, “John-”

“We could have had something together” John gripped the heavy doors and began to close them on Jack, “I’ll give you a chance, see if your team are up to the challenge”

“John!” Jack shouted as the doors clanged shut, pitching him into darkness. Okay, Jack forced himself to keep a level head, this wasn’t a great situation to be in but at least he was alive and could warn the team John was heading there way. All he needed to do was call Owen and Ianto, “Shit,” he searched his pockets fruitlessly for his phone as John walked away whistling, tossing it into the water. Once a pickpocket, always a pickpocket, it was almost embarrassingly easy to steal it from Jack’s person, he really had let himself go.

One down, four to go.

-

Gwen sat quietly as Ianto drove them towards the office Tosh had input to their GPS, she didn’t understand why Ianto had chosen to work with her over Tosh. It was no secret the two of them were close, they used to go out for breakfast at least once a week, just the two of them. Tosh would help Ianto in the archives and they would constantly be giggling together, not that Gwen had noticed or was at all jealous that someone who had joined the team after her had somehow managed to befriend their colleagues more effectively.

“What are you thinking about?” Ianto startled her out of her thoughts as they arrived, he was looking at her as if he could see something she couldn’t and it was starting to grate on her nerves

“Why me?” She demanded, slamming the car door behind her as they broke into he office building, “You’ve been treating me different all day. What’s changed?”

“Nothings changed,” Ianto looked hurt and was very clearly trying not to show it, “I wanted to work with you because I think we could make a good team.”

“Really? Because the last time we went on a mission together I lost you and you came back a little worse for wear” Gwen followed him into the lift and sighed, maybe she was looking too much into this, she was supposed to be happy her teammate apparently liked her and wanted to work with her, “Sometimes I feel like I can never compete, Owen might be a twat but he’s an amazing Doctor, you and Jack have all this… history and Tosh is a genius” saying it all like that made her feel incredibly small, “I’m just Gwen Cooper”

“You’re not ‘just’ anything Gwen,” Ianto wanted to tell her of all the amazing things she had done but he knew he couldn’t because along with the heroic deeds came acts of war that would haunt her for the rest of her life, “You’re amazing, a great field agent and have been a true friend to me. When Jack left you looked after me, invited me into your home and had my back. I trust you and I believe in you” he smiled at her flushed, perplex face as the lift opened, “Come on, that canister wont find itself”

They had just stopped inside the office when Gwen’s phone started to ring, at least she had the decency to look embarrassed as she answered, “Shouldn't you be asleep?” It was Rhys, Ianto knew immediately as he watched Gwen’s shoulders relax, a happy smile gracing her lips. He wondered if his face did that when he thought of Jack, “Oh, my God. Rhys, that is fantastic!” Her smile dimmed a bit as she looked to the ground, “It looks like it's gonna be an all nighter, so go on, get yourself to bed. I am so proud of you. I love you.”

Peeking over the top of a desk he had slid behind to check for the canister, Ianto raised an eyebrow once she hung up, “Good news?” Usually he wouldn’t ask but he was trying to build bridges

“Rhys got promoted” Gwen couldn’t help but beam, Ianto wondered if she knew she was doing it, “He deserves it, he really does, works so hard”

“You’ll have to give him my congratulations,” They weren’t friends exactly but he was Gwen’s… Ianto’s eyes drifted down to Gwen’s hands and he finally spotted the ring, “I can’t believe I forgot you were engaged, the ring looks lovely”

“Oh, aren’t you sweet to say so pet” Gwen smiled even wider as she searched inside a plant pot, looking down at her ring, “We got it altered so it would fit, we’re thinking about a summer wedding”

Memories of his own wedding sprang to mind, so very long ago and yet it still felt like yesterday he was stood nervously at the alter waiting for Lisa. She had been beautiful, a bride worthy of a king (or in her case a queen) he wished he could say it was one of the happiest days of his life but with war looming and a surprise, somewhat somber, visit from Jackson, the whole thing had a strong undertone of guilt and shame. He could only hope Gwen had a better day than he, “You’ll make a beautiful bride” he wasn’t aware the words were coming out of his mouth, but wasn’t that always the way once he got reminiscing, “I’m sure your day will be lovely”

“Thank you” he had thrown her so many curve balls at this point that Gwen was just rolling with it, “We’d better get a shift on if we ever want to find this thing. You take the left side and I’ll search over this way”


	7. Kiss Kiss

Owen swore as he tripped over a small box some genius had left right in front of the doorway that lead inside the large hanger Tosh’s GPS had brought them to, “Shit,” he hissed, rubbing his foot as he looked around, “S’dark in here”

“No bulbs.” Tosh told him helpfully, sidestepping the box as she looked around as well 

“No, because that would only be helpful.” Owen groused, itching to get this over with so he could just go home, “Oh, great, how are we gonna find a canister in all this tat? What are we doing with our lives, Tosh?”

Owen wasn’t the only one who wanted to get home, tonight was the one night a week Beth didn’t have to worry about staying up too late as she didn’t have work the next morning and Tosh was missing it to search a dusty hanger, “I know Owen, you’re not the only one with someone special waiting back home”

“Yeah,” Owen shone his torch around trying to look busy, “Sorry”

Getting to work, Tosh started digging into a few boxes, “It’s actually very sweet you know” she smiled at her friend as he searched the shelves, “A year ago you’d have been complaining about missing the chance to go out on the pull, now look at you. You’re a _dad_ Owen”

He tried not to puff up all proud, he really did, but he just could help it, “Well, you know,” he sniffed, “I've done all that, haven't I? Where did it get me? No, I needed a proper woman, Dianne is all that a bag of chips. And Nathan?” Owen shook his head with a smile, “Both of them make it worth it. Going home to them, but you know that, you have Beth”

“Who would have though it?” Tosh’s gaze shifted to above Owen’s left shoulder, her torchlight soon to follow, “Owen, whats that?”

Spinning around, Owen crowed, “You beauty, yes!” He climbed up on a lower shelf and grabbed the canister Tosh had spotted, “Well done Tosh”

Their joy didn’t last for long though as a familiar voice called out from the shadows, a voice they were not pleased to hear, “Yes, Good work, team.”

John bloody Hart, Tosh dropped her torch, “Where's Jack?” John didn’t answer and instead knocked her to the ground as she reached for her gun

“Ah, ah, ah.” John shook his finger as Owen reached for his own weapon, pointing his nicked gun at Tosh’s head, “Gun on the floor, or I shoot her.”

Owen did as he was told and tapped his coms, “Jack, where are you?”

“I muted the comm system as soon as we left the palace under the pavement.” John rolled his eyes at the practically prehistoric technology, “I love my little wrist strap. Now, phones.”

“You touch her again and I will kill you.” Owen snarled even as he relinquished his phone, “Okay?”

As he predicted John didn’t even appear to be listening as he picked up a baseball bat with his free hand, “The efficiency of a gun, or the brutality of wood?”

“Yeah, look, stop toying with me you sick fuck and get on with it.” Owen spat even as Tosh squeaked her protest from the ground. As John raised the gun to point it at him again Owen did have to wonder if perhaps his mouth got him into more trouble than it should.

-

“This is taking forever,” Gwen complained as she finished searching her sixth desk, “Are we even sure it’s here?”

“The rift was active at these coordinates approximately two hundred feet above ground.” Ianto repeated the information Tosh had given them both, “It’s got to be here”

Gwen blinked and looked pointedly at the ceiling, “That means this floor,” she did the maths considering which floor they were on, “ _or_ the roof.”

Ianto looked back at her with a surprised half smile and practically radiated pride, “You’re right, I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll go take a look shall I?”

“Be my guest, it’ll be bloody freezing up there” the one time she didn’t bring a coat with her, “I expect you’ll have some experience on rooftops, with Jack and all”

“Not as much as you’d think” Ianto smirked, heading for the doors only to be stopped at the last second as Gwen called him back.

She looked determined but also resigned, Ianto found he couldn’t look away, “Why are we helping him? John I mean, he’s not exactly…” she trailed off but Ianto got the gist of it

“He's a reminder of Jack’s past, he wants him gone.” He told her, “Wouldn’t you want the same if you were in his shoes?”

“I guess,” Gwen sighed, glancing in the bin under someone’s desk, “I just don’t trust him”

Ianto cocked his head to one side and quickly turned around, huh, he thought he’d heard something but the hallway was empty, “Good, you shouldn’t.” He turned back to Gwen, “I’m going to head up to the roof, meet you back down here in ten if I don’t find anything and then we can head back”

“Good luck!” She called after him as Ianto pressed the button for the lift.

As Gwen had predicted the roof was cold but thankfully Ianto didn’t have to stay up there very long as he immediately saw the canister was sat on the edge of the building. If Gwen hadn’t thought of looking up here he dreaded to think of how long they would have searched the office downstairs. Unfortunately the universe seemed to enjoy making his life as difficult and as miserable as possible and so of course when he bent down to pick it up he heard a low whistle from behind him, “Looking good eye candy, maybe once this is all over I can rescue your fine ass from those trousers”

“John” Ianto scowled at him, a small spiteful part of him wanted to throw the damn canister at his head and watch as it bounced off, alas the canister was full of radioactive material and if he went around chucking it at Space-Douches then it might explode, “Where’s Jack? If you've harmed him in any way-”

“You know, you’re all pretty but so _so_ stupid.” John interrupted him, “Jack used to have better taste.”

Ianto glared at him hatefully, “Doesn't look like that from here.” 

“Just give it here.” John reached out for the canister, “I would hate to ruin such a pretty face”

One step ahead, Ianto held the canister behind his back, “Radiation cluster bombs? Really? I may have been born last century but even that seems a little far fetched” he felt as if Jack would have come across these before in the future, his partner had a long list of anecdotes ranging across all fields of knowledge after all

“Let's not get hung up on details.” John reached behind his own back and pulled out his gun, “The canister”

“Little embarrassing that you needed help to find them.” Ianto was running his mouth off and he knew it but after the year he’d had John didn’t scare him. What’s one more gunshot to add to the collection?

“A little humiliating you all fell for the scam, but then again you are getting on a bit. I give you two more years before Jack dumps you for a newer model”

They were finally getting somewhere, “Oh, and that’s you is it?” He asked, “You want him back and think the best way to go about it is to try kill all his friends? Courting must be very different in the future”

“Oh what would you know about the future,” John scoffed, “You’re _nothing_. No one, just a tiny minuscule speck in never ending, all encompassing universe” he marched up to him and gripped Ianto by the front of his shirt, “The canister. Now”

Ianto gulped and tried not to think about how just a little push from John would send him plummeting to his death, “Fine,” he haded over the canister and tried not to recoil too violently when John leaned in to kiss him

“What are you doing? Get off me.” He spat as John span him around and knocked him to the ground. What was it with people who wanted him dead also trying to kiss him?

“Thought I’d see what all the fuss was about” John smirked, “God, the twenty first century is so frigid.”

“20th actually,” Ianto grit his teeth as unpleasant shivers ran down his spine, “What've you done?” He couldn’t feel his legs

“No, don't get up. I mean, you can't anyway. Paralysing lip gloss.” John wiped his mouth, very pleased with himself, “I think it might have even been Jack taught me that trick. Just one problem. If you're not found in two hours, your major organs will go into shutdown.” He tossed the canister up in the air and caught it with a jaunty wink, “Thanks. You gonna be okay in here without me? Well I suppose you’ll have to be”

Ianto tried to curse at him, or call for help but he was completely immobilised. John seemed to be getting off from it too if his grin was anything to go by. Sick Bastard.

“I’ll tell you what,” He crouched down and ran a hand through Ianto’s hair while he couldn’t so much as flinch away, “Instead of killing the girl downstairs I’ll give her the chance to save you, eh? See how much you trust your team then”

-

Jack clutched his gut frantically as he gasped awake, he hated reviving after a drawn out death like blood loss. It always felt ten times worse without Ianto’s arms as well, something he’d had to learn to live without for so long.

He didn’t have time to waste thinking about his lover though, he needed to find a way out of this shipping container and warn his team. Who knows what fresh hell John was currently putting them through? His only hope was that they could all band together to keep one another safe until he could get to them.

He should have known that even hoping was enough to jinx it.

Gwen was stood glaring at John as he held her at gunpoint at the lift, “You won’t get away with this”

“Oh honey, I already have” John smirked as the doors closed, the woman’s voice telling Gwen she was going up.

If Gwen had learnt anything today it was to trust her gut and not John’s words so instead of rushing to go find Owen and Tosh she headed to the roof. She would later congratulate herself on making the right call but in that moment as she burst out onto the roof, Gwen was struck with panic as she saw Ianto lying very still on the floor, “Ianto!” She rushed over to him but he wasn’t moving, barely even breathing. She wasn’t a doctor, she had no clue what to do, “Ianto stay with me, keep your eyes open” what had John done to him?

Clearly struggling, Ianto inhaled as much air as he could and let out a small wheeze that sounded almost like Owen’s name, “You want me to find Owen?” Gwen asked as Ianto’s eyes flickered rapidly up and down as if he were trying to nod, she was already on her phone but hadn’t been receiving any replies, “I think he and Tosh are still in the hanger,” she would have to go find them and bring them back to Ianto, “I can’t move you, I promise I’ll be back as soon as I can” she felt awful leaving Ianto alone and clearly in danger but what else could she do?

It was time to pull herself together and get moving, it was down to her to sort this out and she wasn’t about to let Ianto down. Not now, not ever.

She would never forgive herself.


	8. Bang Bang

Tosh was no Doctor but she’d learnt a thing or two from Owen over the last couple of years, she was fairly confident she could have cleaned up his bullet wound in the med bay and was working with what she had in the hanger, “This might sting” she warned, dumping a bottle of water over the bleeding wound

“Ow! Ow!” Owen was squirming away from her as she apologised, he knew she was doing her best but he had no idea how Ianto endured all those pot shots through his life with so much grace, he felt like a bawling baby in comparison to him, “ _Ow!_ Thank you.” 

Tosh kept pressure on his wound and blew her fringe out of her eyes, “Why didn’t he just kill us?”

“He got what he wanted.” Owen held back a groan as she pushed a little too hard, Dianne was going to be furious with him when he got home with a hole in him, “Maybe he just underestimated us.”

Owen cursed his luck as the hanger doors clanged open on the far side of the room, thinking John had come to finish them off after all, and was pleasantly surprised to hear Gwen’s voice shouting out to them, “Tosh? Owen!”

“Gwen!” Tosh shone her light to direct her towards them as she called out again, “We’re over here” 

The welshwoman looked shaken up but it only got worse when she saw Owens wound, her face turning almost green, “What happened?”

“Got shot didn’t I?” Owen said sarcastically as he tried to get up, “Where’s Ianto? Have you heard from Jack?” For all the times he complained about them being joined at the hip, he wouldn’t half mind seeing them now

“Nothing from Jack but we’ll have to find him later,” Gwen knew her priorities, “Ianto’s been hurt, he’s in danger”

-

Jack pounded at the shipping containers doors but it was no use, he was stuck there with no escape presenting itself. If only his vortex manipulator still worked, upon waking up on the lower levels of the Valiant last month he found it was once again disabled. Probably by the doctor, not that the Time Lord had stuck around to answer any of his questions once he woke up. Go figure.

Meanwhile over on the other side of the city, Ianto was fighting for his life and not feeling very positive about the outcome. He couldn’t move from where he’d collapsed on the roof but he could still feel his limbs. The cold was biting at him and the gravel was hardly comfortable to lie on.

It felt like hours before Gwen came back with a bleeding Owen and an exhausted looking Tosh, it was safe to say as Owen groaned trying to kneel by his side that he wasn’t completely confident the medic would be able to figure out what was wrong with him. He looked about ready to keel over, “Couldn’t keep outta trouble for two minutes could ya?” Owen huffed as he checked his eyes, “That’s it Ianto, stay with me

“What happened?” Tosh asked, checking his pulse from the other side as Gwen hovered feeling useless, “What’s John done to him?”

“He’s still breathing. No discernible injuries.” Owen winced as his stomach throbbed painfully, the painkillers he took in the SUV on the drive over already wearing off, “Tosh, let’s get this thing started. Gwen, take a swab. Right, pupils dilating, he’s still conscious. Stay with us, mate.”

Ianto wasn’t sure what they were doing, the tech they were using something that he hadn’t had chance to familiarise himself with, he wasn’t entirely sure it was human. “He’s been poisoned” Tosh reported and Ianto could have kissed her

“Anti-toxin kit now.” Owen watched as Gwen all but bolted back downstairs to get it out of the SUV and tried to reassure the immobilised man in front of him, “Ianto, hold on, everything’s gonna be alright” It was slow work but after a complicated series of injections Ianto’s confidence in Owen was slowly returning as was the mobility of his limbs, “Think you can stand up?”

Ianto was trying not to let his slurred speech embarrass him but it wasn’t easy, he sounded like a simpleton, “Yesh” bloody poison, wasn’t fair, “ _Yes_ ” he focused and got to his feet with help from Gwen, “Jack?”

“I tracked his phone to the docks but it’s deactivated, the chip is still pinging but it’s reading from the water” Tosh had run a scan in the SUV while Owen was hopping himself on pain meds and wasn’t sure what else to suggest, “If he was back at the hub he would have let us know by now, I think we should check to see if John abandoned him at the docks”

“Come on then,” Ianto took a shaken step forward and almost pitched face first to the floor, it was only Gwen’s arm around his waist holding him up. Determined and furious beyond measure at the events that had unfolded, Ianto grit his teeth and tried again, “Let’s go”

-

Jack could hear voices in the distance, they were muffled and nearly none existent but someone was nearby. He’d given up on pounding at the doors a while ago but with a new spark of home, he leapt to his feet and started shouting again, “I’m in here! Hello? _I’m stuck in here!”_

“Can you hear that?” Owen cocked his head to one side and frowned, “Oh God, I need more painkillers, can’t anyone else hear that?”

“Shh,” Gwen closed her eyes and focused, “Is that Jack?”

Ianto, more awake now he’d taken a hit of adrenalin in the car curtesy of Owen, could hear it too, “This way,” he let his ears guide him, Tosh and Gwen split between trying to support him and Owen at the same time, “Jack?!” He shouted, eyes darting between shipping containers frantically as the banging echoed around them, “Jack? Where are you?!”

“Ianto, you need to calm down” Owen said weakly as he leant against one of the containers, “You-”

He wasn’t listening, now opening doors at random, getting more frantic after each one, “Jack!?”

Jack’s voice was clear now, he was close but instead of calming down, Ianto got even more riled up and shook of Gwen’s repeated attempts to slow him down, “Ianto!” Jack pounded desperately on the doors of his makeshift prison as he heard his lovers frantic cries, “I’m in here!” The door was wrenched open and he was nearly knocked off his feet as Ianto collapsed into him, “ _Thank god_ , you’re okay”

“You’re not,” Ianto saw the puddle of blood on the floor and his stained clothes, “John killed you, didn’t he?”

He knew better than to lie, “Yeah” Jack nodded as he allowed Ianto to pull him out of the darkness and outside, his team didn’t look too great, “Jesus Owen, what happened?”

“Could ask you the same thing,” Owen huffed weakly, gesturing to his bullet wound, “Gone did got myself shot didn’t I?”

Jack frowned as he felt how heavily Ianto was leaning against him, realising for the first time that he wasn’t as put together as usual, “And Ianto?”

“Poisoned” Owen wasn’t going to lie to Jack about Ianto, he liked his head on his shoulders thanks, “Should be okay, detoxed him before we came for you”

“And you let him out of the car?!” Jack was close to shouting, he knew John would try something like this. He would have time to chew Ianto out later about his health, right now they had a situation to deal with, “We need to get back to the hub, god knows what John is planning to do with those canisters”

-

Inside the hub, John had opened the canisters and put together the small triangle puzzle hidden inside them. All he needed now was the centrepiece and wasn’t he lucky that Jack’s little team had the owner of said piece locked up in their sex dungeon that really had some great potential. Add a couple of swings and a st Andrews cross and they’d be good to go.

“Had to go and steal a car.” John pulled his gun and pointed it at the cowering blowfish hiding in his cell, “Get yourself noticed.”

“Please, I don’t want any trouble!” The Blowfish had come down from his major high and realised how deep the shit he’d landed himself in was, only an idiot crossed a time agent, “I-”

John shot without remorse and took the beeping centre tetrahedron from his pocket, “Now,” John whistled jauntily to himself as he ran back up to the main hub where he’d left the first three pieces, “Let’s get started” The missing piece was two seconds away from clicking into place when four guns cocked behind him, loudly, in the quiet hub. He hadn’t even heard them come in, “Okay,” he turned with his hands raised and pouted at Ianto who looked by far the most aggrieved, “Pretty _and_ resilient. Is that even fair?”

“Maybe you didn’t realise.” Gwen took her cue when Ianto just tightened his grip on his gun instead of speaking, “You can beat, shoot, threaten, and even poison us, and we keep coming back stronger every time.”

“Well,” John swallowed nervously and tried to push their buttons, emotions were a distraction he could use to make his escape, “I think you ought to know your boss has bled to death by now at the-” Jack took this as his opportunity to make a grand entrance, stepping into view dramatically with his own gun holstered by his side, “docks… Now that’s impressive.” John admitted faintly when he saw Jack standing there as if he hadn’t been shot an hour ago, “Seriously, you can earn a fortune in the Vegas galaxies with an act like that. Go on, how’s it work?”

Jack crossed his arms and leant against the railing in the medbay, “I can’t die.”

“Huh.” John laughed humourlessly, “No but, really.”

Seeing the situation wasn’t getting any calmer, Jack tired to draw it to a close as soon as possible, he didn’t want any of his team getting itchy trigger fingers if he could help it. Living with blood on ones hands never got any easier and he wouldn’t want them to have John’s death on their conscience, “No, but really, you can’t kill me. No matter how many times you try, I can’t die. _Ever._ ”

“Hey, but what does it cost you? Every time you have to drag yourself back here, how does it feel?” John pushed, “All that pain and trauma. Plus, you’re reborn into this god forsaken mess.” And he pushed further, as if seeing how far he could go, “I pity you.”

“These people, this planet, all the beauty you could never see.” Jack glanced at Ianto, “That’s what I come back for.” He said, “Every. single. time”

Also flickering his gaze towards Ianto, John sniped sarcastically, “Well, goody on you.”

“What’s in the canisters?” Gwen asked, getting them back on topic

Owen was on the same page, for the hundredth time that night he thought to himself that he just wanted to go home, “It’s come clean time, Captain.”


	9. Team Orgy Anyone?

John knew when to cut his losses, he’d clearly underestimated Jacks little band of misfit toys but the situation wasn’t yet unsalvageable, “Yeah, all right. That woman I told you about had herself an Arcadian diamond. It’s the rarest gem in the Damascene Cluster” he explained, “Just when I’d got my hands on her, she only generates her own personal Rift storm. God, I hate technological geniuses.”

Tosh narrowed her eyes at him, “You said this was a dying woman’s request.”

“Yeah, she _was_ dying” John blinked without remorse, “I shot her. Thought my luck had changed when I found it had ended up here.” He sniffed, putting his hands on his hips, “So, I’m thinking fifty fifty. Even split, good deal.” He winked at eye candy, “Or if anyone fancies an orgy?”

Now, in Ianto’s defence he was still recovering from being poisoned so he really couldn’t be held accountable for the mental image that plagued him over the next few seconds. That was it, just a few seconds. He glanced away from John, tightened his grip on his weapon and refocused himself, banishing the thought as he glared at the man in response.

“That won’t be necessary,” Jack looked around his team and weighed up his options. If John hadn’t have hurt them he might have let him go but he’d killed their prisoner, Ianto had almost died, Owen had been shot and the girls looked visibly shaken by the whole evening. It would serve John right if he sent him packing sans the diamond and with a black eye for his troubles, “Open it”

“What?” John wasn’t the only one to ask as Jack nodded towards the puzzle pieces but he wasn’t going to argue over it, “Not even a please?” He rolled his eyes, “Don’t your manners get brought back to life too?” When Jack didn’t say anything, John let out a huff and picked the centre piece back up, “This should give us the location of the diamond.”

Ianto’s eyes locked onto the hologram that transmitted out of the tiny puzzle, he watched it with interest as a woman smiled at all of them, “There she is” John told them

“The woman you murdered.” Gwen wasn’t as easily impressed

The hologram seemed to be looking at John as she spoke, “You’ve travelled several galaxies for this. Well done.”

John rubbed his hands together and smiled, pay day was here, “Thank you, gorgeous.”

“Except,” the woman smirked, “there’s no diamond.”

Oh, Jack snorted at the look on Johns face as he squawked, “What?” serves him right

“Only this.” The middle of the small device opened up and showed it was empty.

Well, mostly empty, “No, no, no.” John backed away like a scared little girl and Owen took a moment to fully enjoy it as the man climbed on top of his autopsy table as if he’d seen a mouse on the floor, “No, no, no, no, no, no, no, there’s got to be a diamond. It’s all about the diamond.” A circular device rose into the air and the team watched with interest as it launched itself at John and attached itself to his chest. Ianto was morbidly pleased to see it hurt, “What the hell is that?”

It was almost as if the hologram could hear him as it responded, “It’s an explosive device which will latch on to the DNA of whoever killed me. It’ll detonate in ten minutes. It can’t be removed without exploding so, don’t bother trying. Goodbye, lover.”

John tried to argue but the hologram was already fading out, “No, wait.”

“See you in hell.” The message ended

Gwen was eyeing John like the ticking time bomb he was and asked, “She can’t be serious. Ten minutes?”

“Get it off me!” John scratched at the device as Ianto pulled the stopwatch out of Jack’s pocket with a sadistic little smile 

“Actually, nine minutes fifty, forty nine, forty eight” he counted down with a smirk, “Always at the ready.”

Gwen slapped him on the arm as she walked by to try and get Jack to listen to her, “Okay, how big is this explosion likely to be, Jack?”

Looking away from Ianto, whom he was growing increasingly concerned about, Jack answered her, “That technology, that size?” He huffed, “Big.”

“So we should really get him out of the city.” Owen nodded along as if John wasn’t in the room with them

Ianto meanwhile was focusing on the watch and helpfully chimed in, “Nine minutes thirty seven”

‘You’ve got to help me” John was begging now, “Please, eye candy? Jack?”

Jack crossed his arms and mentally calculated how far they could take John in the direction to harm the least amount of people, “Why should I?” And then John flipped, Jack should have seen it coming but he was too slow as his ex partner leapt over the table and tackled Ianto to the ground, he had his hostage. He’d been here long enough by now to have found Jack’s new pressure point and eye candy was his get out of jail free card

“Let him go” Tosh had her gun back up and pointed directly at John’s head, “Now”

“Put it down or I’ll kill him,” John warned, “Tell them Jack, I could kill him with one hand tied behind my back and you know it. Back. Back off” he spat, grip around Ianto’s throat tightening as he tried to fight him off, _“Get back!”_

Jack felt the bottom of his stomach fall out as he was once again faced with the threat of losing Ianto “Do as he says”

“Jack,” Ianto gasped as John let him breathe again, “Don-”

John tightened his grip again, “That’s quite enough from you” he slapped cold metal over Ianto’s wrist, “Hypersteel, impermeable, deadlock sealed. No way to undo them. Unless you have this key.” Which he then promptly swallowed. The team weren’t listening to him though, they were all watching Ianto who looked completely zoned out. He was staring at his hand which was now shackled to John with glassy eyes, wherever Ianto was right then, it wasn’t with them, “Are you listening to me eye candy? Either your little team figures out how to get this thing off me or we blow up together”

“Ianto?” Jack tried unsuccessfully to catch his gaze, “Ianto come back to us, babe?”

Snapping out of it, Ianto yanked Johns arm behind his back and slammed him into the wall, the shackles had taken him back to the Valiant. That dark, cold, wet cell he’d lived in for months, being drowned, burnt, starved and humiliated by The Master all the while shackled to the wall like a stray dog, “Then I guess I’ll just have to cut your hand off” he growled into John’s ear too low for the others to hear, “The games over John and I’m not losing another fucking round”

“Ianto,” Jack warned, “Don’t aggravate him”

“Ow, ow watch it eye candy,” John complained as his shoulder pinched, “I’ve got a bomb strapped to my chest here that you’re grinding into the tiles, not the only thing digging into the wall if you know what I mean-”

“You are unbelievable!” How could this man have a boner when facing certain death?

John smirked even as he was pulled back round roughly, “And yet you still find me strangely attractive”

“Would shooting him deactivate the device?” Ianto asked as he rotated his wrist, if he dislocated his thumb he might be able to slip out of them, “I volunteer of course”

“Oh, you love me really” John snarked as Jack shot down his idea, “So, what are we gonna do now, team? The orgy’s still on offer, by the way. Especially now I’ve got the cuffs out.”

Ianto checked the stopwatch again, “Nine minutes four seconds.” He had a plan, it could work if he didn’t balls it up but it would require the team playing along, “Tosh, the Rift predictor program, have you perfected yet?”

“Pretty much.” She frowned, not seeing where this was going

John demanded to know what he was going on about but Ianto ignored him as he yanked them up the stairs, “Anything in the next few minutes?”

“Ianto, no way.” Jack had caught on and refused to even entertain the idea, “No, no you’re not- No. I won’t lose you again”

John didn’t like the sound of that, “What’s he talking about?”

Ianto fixed him with another one of those dark smiles, “If we’re in the Rift when that disc explodes, the city will be safe”

Not following, John asked, “How does that save us?”

“It doesn’t” Ianto forced John to move as he dragged them both towards the exit, “Eight thirty two, let’s get a move on”

John tried to call him out, “You’re bluffing.” 

“Try me.” Ianto shot back, giving Jack a significant look and a barely there wink as he passed him. Over the years together they had all but mastered none verbal conversation and that was all it took for Jack to understand he had a plan, now all he had to do was trust him to execute it without dying. 

He was good at not dying.

Sort of.

“The car park where he arrived. The crack in the Rift is still active up there.” Tosh worried her lip as she watched Ianto haul John to the cog door

“Right, that’s where we’re going.” Ianto kicked John when he refused to move, “Gwen, a little help?”

“Somebody better start doing something.” Owen was grasping at straws and had the same idea as Ianto, “Cut his hand off.”

Jack, having already thought of it as well, shook his head with his heart in his throat, “That would activate the bomb as well.” 

The medic watched as Gwen and Tosh helped Ianto drag John out of the hub, arguing even as they helped him on his suicide mission, “Jack,” he caught him at the last minute and nodded back down to the med bay, “I’ve got a better idea”


	10. Tongue Tingles

Owen grabbed all the test vials out of his medical fridge and shoved them into Jack’s waiting hands, “Trust me” one by one Owen emptied the team’s blood samples into a single vial and shook it up. This had to work, he couldn’t go back to depressed Jack all the time. His boss deserved his happy ending dammit.

“This better work.” Jack warned him as they headed out as well, they’d have to be quick to catch up with the team even with John slowing them down

Owen tried to appear confident, “Trust me,” he bluffed, “I’m an improviser.”

-

Having significantly less amounts of fun now, Ianto watched his time slip away nervously, “Five minutes twenty two seconds.” He had a plan, everything was going to be fine, he needed to trust in himself

“I can’t find the frequency the device works on.” Tosh felt helpless behind her monitors, “There’s no chance of jamming it.”

“What happened to Jack? He should be here.” Gwen didn’t want to freak Ianto out but if these were his last moments, if they were about to lose him, then Jack should be here to say goodbye

John took the opportunity to gloat though, “What I’ve been saying all along. _Unreliable._ ” 

Ianto just elbowed him sharply in the ribs, his decreased amount of muscle mass working in his favour as the bone was extra pointy, “Shut up.”

Groaning, John plastered his face against the window instead and eyed the people on the street, “I think I’m starting to see what he likes about this place. She’s beautiful, he’s stunning.”

“Don’t you ever stop?” Gwen’s grip on the wheel was tightening as he carried on

John didn’t care in the slightest, “What, five minutes to live and you want me to behave? Oh, that’s _gorgeous.”_

Peering around him to see what John was talking about, Ianto gave him a horrified look, “That’s a poodle.”

“That’s nice.” He corrected as Gwen drove just as recklessly as Owen or Jack, swinging dramatically into the multi story car park, “Women drivers am I right?” John earned himself a second, sharper elbow for his troubles

To say Ianto was fed up with the man would be the understatement of the century, he would know he’d been around long enough, “Out, now” Ianto didn’t even wait to see if John would do as he said, instead shoving him out of the SUV as soon as it stopped moving. Okay, a few seconds before if he’s being completely honest.

“Ow!” John complained, “Okay, who knew you could play so rough eye candy?”

Tosh had taken over the stopwatch now and was nervously shifting from foot to foot as she waited for Ianto to reveal his big plan “Fifty one seconds.” He had to have some sort of big plan, it was a classic Jack and Ianto thing to do. Big plans up their sleeves for years those too. 

“You’re not really gonna sacrifice yourself,” John asked as the rift appeared in front of them, for the first time really doubting whether or not Ianto was so petty as to kill them both, “are you?”

Huffing his fringe from his eyes, Ianto glared at him, “Forty five seconds.” He told him as he wrenched his thumb from it’s socket, it hurt like hell and brought back unpleasant memories of how he learnt to do it in the first place but he felt as though he could finally breath properly since John manacled them together, “We have to go”

“No, no, no, whoa. What about a last minute rescue?” John tugged desperately as Ianto dragged him towards the rift opening, “What’s the point of being on a team if you don’t get a last minute rescue?”

It was never easy to kill someone but Ianto wouldn’t lose much sleep over throwing John and his filthy bomb into the rift, “Forty seconds.” He slipped his thin wrist from the space handcuffs and grabbed John by the back of his ridiculous coat

He was ready to launch John through the opening when Owen and Jack came screeching to a halt in the red sports car the blowfish had stolen earlier that evening. Had that only been a few hours ago? It felt like a lifetime, “Thirty seconds.” Tosh called as Jack spirited over to John and knocked him to the ground, Ianto stood over the grappling men like an unimpressed parent.

“Argh!” John struggled as Jack stabbed him in the chest with a needle and injected him with something, “Get off me”

“Owen,” Jack watched with wide eyes as the disk stayed put, “it’s not working.”

Ianto shoved Jack off John and got ready to haul the man through the rift opening as Tosh practically screamed at them, “Fifteen seconds!”

“What are you doing?” Gwen was pulling at her hair now, long past trying to stay calm

They had a bomb that was about to go off and no plan, “Trying to confuse the disc.” Owen finally noticed Ianto was free of his chains but he knew he wasn’t close enough to get John inside the rift in time from where he was stood. Either Jack or Ianto would have to do it

Tosh stared at the disk as it stayed put, “Why hasn’t it worked?” 

“I don’t know!” Owen admitted, feeling th panic spreads like wildfire

Ianto grit his teeth and hauled John to his feet, “Seven seconds.” The disk released John with a hiss as he finally got to his feet, clattering to the ground loudly, “Go! Run!” He scooped the disk up as John legged it to take cover behind the SUV, Owen, Gwen and Tosh not far behind him. He hadn't been talking to John but only an idiot would stay in the blast zone. An idiot just like Jack.

Jack of course was never going to leave his side and tried his best to cover him as the disk exploded inside the rift sending bits of tarmac and other debris flying at them

Once the shock waves had calmed down Ianto felt the ground beneath his back and got the distinct impression something was wrong. He still couldn’t pin point it but it was the same feeling he got whenever he ended up in a time he wasn’t supposed to be in, “What the hell?” The dark sky only confirmed it, “Oh lord, if I’ve traveled through the rift again-”

“Jack, what’s going on?” Gwen asked, calling Ianto’s attention to the rest of the team who were all staring at him, or rather Jack who was lying provocatively on top of him, “Why’s it gone dark?”

Thanking every entity he could think of, Ianto pushed Jack off of him as gently as possible and got to his feet, “This still looks like 21st century Cardiff” he said as he sniffed the air, “Smells like it too” there was a distinct difference in smell that had evolved over the last 50 years, Dianne agreed with him even if neither of them could pinpoint it. Jack said it was an increase of oestrogen in the air but he was never sure what to believe when it came to that man.

“The rift’s reverted to the moment he came through.” Jack explained, “Everything’s jumped back to the beginning of the night.”

Gwen gave John a pointed look, “Like you were never here.”

“Now we’ve got to avoid ourselves.” Jack sighed, “Great.” At this point he was almost done caring, he just wanted to cuddle up with the man he loved and have some life affirming sex, was that so much to ask? 

“It’s a temporal displacement. Makes your tongue tingle, doesn’t it?” John smiled as Ianto nodded unconsciously, “It’s lovely.”

Picking up the empty needle so as not to contribute to the appealing amount of litter on the streets nowadays, Ianto asked, “What was in the syringe?”

“Torchwood DNA.” Owen told him, “DNA samples from the five of us, fused and injected into his heart. It temporarily corrupted his DNA coding, and confused the disc.”

A lot of modern science might be lost on Ianto unless he concentrated very hard but even he could recognise a good idea, “That’s brilliant”

John saw it differently of course, “You mean there’s a bit of all of you inside of me? Sweet goddesses, that’s all I need-”

“I want you gone.” Jack interrupted him, “Off this planet before I change my mind and let my team rip you to pieces” he hadn’t missed how Ianto’s eye had been twitching, nor had he looked over Toshiko’s itchy trigger finger. They wanted John gone one way or another and he didn’t want unnecessary blood on their hands. John wasn’t worth it.

John huffed and dangled the now empty cuff in front of himself, “First, eye candy, tell me how you got out of these?”

Ianto held up his dislocated thumb that was throbbing painfully as he hadn’t been able to set it correctly, and looked pointedly at his half starved arm, “I’ve been on a diet” his playful mood all but evaporated, or rather what was left of it anyway as John reached down his throat and retrieved the key from his mouth, “You’ve had that all along?”

“Old Artesian trick. Keep it in the lining of the throat.” John winked, “Has a lot of uses. Don’t feel bad eye candy, you were my passport to survival. No hard feelings. Well, not in that sense anywa-”

Owen smirked as Ianto punched John very, _very_ hard in the face. The sound alone would bring a smile to his face for a long time as he committed it to memory, “Nice one Ianto”

“Yeah,” Gwen agreed as John picked himself back up, “remind me never to get on your bad side.” 

John refused to acknowledge what had just happened and instead addressed Jack as he wiped the blood from his lip, “If you need a new team member-”

“No.” Jack shook his head

“Really? I could-”

“No.”

“But-”

“No.” Jack squared his jaw, “Go now, and you can harness the residual rift energy”

“Listen-”

Jack pulled himself to his full height and gave the other man a significant look, “Goodbye.”

“Okay.” John knew when the battle was lost but couldn’t resist slipping in one last parting blow, he darted forward and slammed their lips tougher, sure to make direct eye contact with Ianto as he pulled away wearing a smug smile, “Oh and by the way,” he said as an after thought as he activated his vortex manipulator, the rift appearing behind him, “I found Gray.” 

John vanished before Jack could do or say anything, disappearing right in front of him as Jack was pleased with the memory of children screaming and a tiny hand letting go of his own, “Who’s Gray?” Gwen asked as Ianto growled into thin air, “Jack?”

“It’s nothing.” He told them as he watched Ianto glare hatefully into space, “Let’s get back to work” he didn't believe if for a second, it was just another one of John’s cheap tricks.

-

The team wasn’t going to put up much of a fight when Jack offered to put them up in a fancy hotel for the night in order to keep out of their past selves way. Owen had grumbled a bit until Jack permitted him to invite Dianne and the baby which had caused a chain of events which led to Rhys and Beth also tagging along.

Ianto had just wanted to go home.

Luckily, Jack seemed to understand and swept him away as soon as the team turned their backs. The drive was a silent one and though Jack wanted to talk he couldn’t think of a single thing to say, “Ianto,” he glanced over briefly as he drove, “um, how’s your hand?”

“S‘fine” Ianto stifled a yawn as he blinked his eyes open, he’d endured worse, what was a little aching thumb compared to being forced to walk over hot coals for a madman’s amusement, “Just wanna go home”

“Yeah, the tortoises have missed you” Jack picked a topic that would hopefully make him smile, “I’ve been taking good care of them, Tosh told me how you adopted us some kids while I was away” he teased

“The tortoises,” Ianto rubbed his forehead, he hadn’t seen them in so long, “I- Thank you for looking after them for me”

“Don’t mention it,” Jack smiled as he pulled into the drive, “Donnashello wasn’t so keen on me at first but I’ve been wearing him down. Aristurtle is such a daddies boy and Voldetort only bit me twice”

A little overwhelmed at Jack talking about what he still privately thought of as _his_ pets like they were children, Ianto needed a minute as they entered the house, “I need to freshen myself up” he excused himself as politely as he could, not wanting Jack to think he was trying to avoid him, “Be back in a minute”

“Okay,” Jack caught his hand quickly as he tried to walk past him though, “I’ll be waiting in the bedroom”

Calmed slightly by the soothing touch, Ianto didn’t even flinch away as Jack pressed a kiss to his lips even if he did feel a little jumpy, “Alright” that sounded perfect actually, a nice night of sleeping next to Jack, his reassuring presence, even his octopus arms sounded great right about then, “I’ll meet you up there”

First things first though, Ianto made sure Jack had disappeared off upstairs before he crouched down in front of the tortoise tank. There they were, healthy, happy and alive. Ianto felt a little silly whispering to alien tortoises but after five minutes of unloading his stress to them he did have to admit he felt better. 

Collected and slightly more confident, Ianto faced the stairs and braced himself for Jack’s probing questions, what he was not expecting to find as he opened the bedroom door was a naked Jack pleasuring himself, “Ianto, what took you so long?” He gave him a sultry smile as he slowed down his movements, “I had to start without you, why don’t you come over here and show me how much you’ve missed me?” Jacks’ smile slowly faded as he saw the blind panic in Ianto’s eyes, “Babe?”

Opening his mouth, Ianto tried to speak but no words came out, he was left gaping like a goldfish and feeling like a moron as Jack slowly got off the bed in all his naked glory, “I…”

“Ianto?” Jack didn’t bother covering himself, modesty the last thing on his mind as Ianto’s breathing became shallow and fast but not in a good way, “What’s wrong?”

He didn’t know, why was he panicking? Jack’s naked body didn’t make him panic, he loved Jack. He loved his face, his chest, his smile, he loved his hair, his laugh and his strong arms, not to mention his arse and other… fun parts, so why did he feel like a weight had just been dumped on his already crumbling shoulders?

“I don’t know” and didn’t that just make it even worse? Now not only was he freaking out after seeing his partner naked but he didn’t even know why, “Sorry, sorry I- I don’t-”

“Shh” Jack reached out and pulled him in for a hug, rubbing his back gently as he led him towards the bed, “It’s okay, I should have checked we were on the same page” He pulled back and fixed Ianto with a firm look even as his gentle hands pushing his overgrown hair from his eyes told a different story, “We should talk”


	11. Naked in the Grass

More a man of action than words, Ianto often found it hard to express himself even in the simplest of situations. He knew what he wanted to say, it was just getting the words out that became an issue once he was faced with actually verbalising them, “I missed you,” of that he was certain, “I love you” he found it somewhat easier to talk when he didn’t have to face his partner, Jack was a very handsome man but he could be intimidating to look at sometimes, “And I’m glad you’re okay”

Jack allowed Ianto to hide his face in his pillow, content to be the big spoon and cuddle into his back as they got to the bottom of this if that’s what it took, but he couldn’t agree with that, “I’m not okay Ianto,” maybe if he was vulnerable too, Ianto wouldn’t feel so awkward, “I haven’t been okay for weeks, when I got back and found you were gone again… I didn’t handle it very well”

“I’m sorry” he whispered as Jack tightened his grip, yes he was sorry to leave him again but he wasn’t sorry that Jack had rewound with the rest of the planet. If he could spare him the nightmares, he would without a second thought.

“Don’t be,” Jack pressed a kiss to his shoulder, “just tell me where you went,” he looked at his long hair and added, “and for how long”

Taking a deep breath, Ianto decided to throw him a bone, “A year”

“A year?” Jack repeated with horror, “You’ve been gone a _year?!_ Where?”

“Earth” Ianto told him, “And a few weeks aboard the Tardis before your doctor would bring me back, he was late by the way”

Frustrated, Jack tried not to snap, “I don’t understand, _when_ were you?”

“Here, now” he struggled a little as Jack tried to get him to turn over but eventually allowed himself to be manhandled so they could actually look at one another, “Your doctor did something, reversed time just like the rift did tonight but just on a larger scale.” He couldn’t keep the bitterness out of his voice and he knew his lover heard it, “It never happened”

“Hey,” Jack told him seriously as he held him close, “It happened to you, whatever it is, so it happened okay?” Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Jack lifted Ianto’s chin so he’d meet his eye, “I know there’s something you’re not telling me. I know you Ianto, whatever it is you can tell me” it scared him to think about what had happened while Ianto was away, what could be so terrible that Ianto felt he couldn’t tell him about it?

“I can’t” pulling away, Ianto sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, “I won’t” he couldn’t burden Jack with the memories, he didn’t need to know, “It was nothing”

“Your actions say different” Jack knew he shouldn’t push, especially when Ianto was in such an emotional state, but he didn’t know what else to do, “You’re not this violent, you were going to kill John earlier. Granted he’s not a pleasant man but even in the war you never enjoyed taking lives,” Jack sat up as well, “The man I fell in love with knew how precious life is”

“Then maybe I’m not him anymore” Ianto told him coldly, his blank mask slamming down as he climbed out of the bed, “I can’t do this”

Cursing, Jack didn’t even have time to pull on his boxers as he ran after him,“Ianto, wait!” He caught up with him at the bottom of the stairs and blocked the front door, “Come on, lets talk about this like adults. Where are you going?”

“Outside- I need to go outside” Ianto felt the walls closing in around him and practically bolted towards the back door, only feeling as though he could breathe again once he was outside in the garden, looking up at the stars in the sky. The grass beneath his bare feet grounding him as a breeze blew his hair into his face. How Tosh and Gwen managed to run around chasing aliens without their hair blinding them he would never understand.

Hovering at the backdoor, Jack wasn’t sure how to proceed. It was times like these that he missed Lisa dearly, she would know what to do, “Ianto?” He decided to wing it, it’s not like he could make things any worse, “Hey, what was that about?”

Ianto closed his eyes as he felt the shame and guilt rise wash over him, he knew he was acting like an idiot and undoubtably causing Jack more stress than if he’d never returned at all but he felt as though he was lost out at sea with nothing to guide him back to land. Everything was up in the air and as soon as he was given the chance to actually sit back and think about it, he began to spiral, “ _I don’t know_ anymore Jackson” he felt tears welling up but scrubbed his eyes fiercely to stop them

“That’s okay,” Jack approached him cautiously, “What do you say I know enough for the both of us for a while?” He got down on the ground, butt naked and patted the grass next to him as he looked up at the stars, “Did I ever tell you about the time I interrupted a Taliskotian wedding? Great big creatures, look sorta like badgers but the size of a small horse”

Ianto looked at him as if he were mad before laying down next to him and rolling with it, “You have but I have to admit it’s one of my favourites” he wasn’t going to question the sudden change in topic, especially since this one wasn’t making him feel like there was a rubber band tightening around his chest

The two men lay there for hours until Ianto eventually managed to drift off to sleep, by this point Jack had lost most of the feeling in his legs to the cold but he carried Ianto back inside anyway, settling him into bed without complaint. Sure tonight hadn’t gone how Jack had organically planned, there had been no reunion sex, Ianto had been poisoned a few hours ago and he was still no closer to understanding what his lover had gone through over the course of the last year but Jack knew as he tucked the other man in that he could wait as long as it took for Ianto to open up to him.

Besides, he could always ask Martha.

-

“You’re kidding?” Rhys looked around the hotel with wide eyes, “Your boss really paid for all this because Ianto came back?”

“Yes,” Gwen hated lying to him but Jack hadn’t budged no matter how much she argued that her fiancé should know the truth, “Ianto’s backpay for the last month was just sitting there and he offered it up so the team could enjoy a nice night filled with fancy soaps and expensive minibars.”

Rhys smiled at her in his usual adoring manner that never failed to make Gwen fall even deeper in love with him, “Makes the place I picked out for our honeymoon look like some daft premier inn this does,” he licked his lips and made a suggestion he’d been sitting on for a while now, “What do you think about a week or two in France instead? I know we agreed not to splurge but you deserve Paris and I’ll be damned if I don’t give it to you”

“Oh Rhys,” Gwen pulled him in for a kiss, “I’d love to”

Next door Toshiko was just getting out of the shower and having a similar conversation with her own girlfriend, “What do you think about a holiday? Maybe a weekend trip to London?” She asked almost nervously, “I could meet your parents?”

“My parents?” Beth gave her a wide eyes look as Tosh unashamedly dropped the towel to get dressed, “As in both of them?”

“Unless you think it’s too soon?” Tosh worried her lip and kept her back turned just in case, “I mean you haven’t met my family yet if you’d rather meet them first”

“I thought you said you didn’t talk to your parents?” Beth asked as Tosh finishes getting dressed, “You told me you haven’t spoken to your mum in three years”

“I meant my friends” Tosh honestly hadn’t even realised what she’d said until the words were out of her mouth, “They’re my… substitute family, you’d like them”

“Okay”

“Okay?”

“Yeah,” Beth smiled, “I’d love to meet your substitute family”

-

“Why didn’t you tell me last night?” Dianne slapped Owen on the arm lightly as they sat together enjoying a rare breakfast in one another’s company, “Ianto is as much my friend as he is yours” they often got together, or rather did until he disappeared off the face of the earth, to compare notes on the 21st century. Mostly it was just an excuse to drink ridiculously priced coffee and catch up but she had missed him all the same, “Honestly, I’ll have to go see him later, introduce our son”

“He’ll love him” Owen nodded as he rubbed his arm, bloody woman didn’t know her own strength. Or maybe she did now he thought about it

“Who, Nathan or Ianto?” She teased as Owen’s phone chimed between them, waking up Nathan from across the room, “Oh great, is that work?” Dianne asked as she shuffled over, returning with a snivelling child, “I think he wants his daddy”

“Sorry love,” Owen pressed a kiss to the boys head as he checked his messages, “Jack wants us in by half eleven, but that still leaves me with enough time to feed the stinker while you take a bath or something. You don’t have to check out till twelve”

“Owen Harper, you star” Dianne kissed his cheek as she walked past him to start running a bath, “I knew I chose you for a reason”

“Besides my charm and good looks you mean?” He smirked as she swatted at him, “Nathan,” he told his son seriously, “Your mum will never admit it but she fell for me at first sight, never forget it”

Her admonishment traveled through the open door and only made Owen smile wider “Stop filling his head with your foul lies!”

“Never!” He called back, grinning, and set to work feeding their son


	12. Strapped In

After the emotional night they had shared yesterday, Jack was not prepared to wake up and see Ianto sat on the end of their bed with a little black notebook open on his lap in which he was furiously scribbling, “Uh, babe?” Jack rubbed his eyes wearily as he glanced at the clock on his bedside table, “It’s six in the morning, what are you doing?” 

“Writing” Ianto answered in a tone that implied Jack was being very stupid but was forgiven for it, “Sorry if I woke you up”

“No, you didn’t” Jack squinted at him and noted the redness around his eyes, “Bad dream?”

Ianto stopped writing for a moment before shaking his head jerkily, “No”

So that was a yes then, Jack sighed as he propped himself up against the headboard, sleep a distant memory as he watched Ianto carefully. His lover was in bad shape, he’d never been the most muscular man but this was ridicules. He was so thin Jack feared getting a paper cut if he hugged him too tight, “What are you writing?” He leaned over to read it but Ianto snapped the book shut before he got the chance to take a peek, “Ian-”

“Beth is an alien” Ianto blurted out the first thing he could think of to distract him, “Tosh’s girlfriend? Yeah, complete alien. Big blades for arms but she doesn’t know it yet”

Jack blinked a few times, latching onto the information, “And you know this how?” It’s not that he didn’t believe him, he just wanted to know his sources

“I just do,” he was reluctant to tell him and as Jack let it go Ianto knew he couldn’t keep fobbing him off, Jack was patient now but he’d want answers eventually. Ianto just had to find a way to spin it that didn’t make being kidnapped and tortured sound so bad, “She’s mostly harmless but I think we should do something before that changes”

“Like when the mothership comes to enslave everyone?” Jack nodded, “Yeah, probably” he eyed the book Ianto slipped inside his nightstand and had forcibly reminded himself reading it would be a violation of trust, “Any idea’s?”

Ianto scrunched up his nose, an adorable tick Jack had never brought to his attention incase it stopped, “Not really, I was hoping you would have some”

“I’ve got plenty of ideas,” Jack’s lips quirked up into a smile, “Though none of them are about Toshiko’s girlfriend but rather you and I, together, in this bed… no interruptions?” He was reluctant to bring up Ianto’s minor freak out last night after he’d walked into the bedroom as he didn’t want to embarrass the man further but Jack couldn’t help but test the waters. If Ianto’s awkward smile was anything to go by, he wasn’t feeling in the mood so Jack gave him an out, “But maybe later, we have an alien girlfriend to deal with.” If he had a pound for every time he’d said that…

“Yes,” Ianto latched onto the idea, standing brusquely and Jack noticed for the first time that he was dressed, “I’ll go make breakfast and we can strategise over coffee”

“Sounds like a plan” Jack’s eyes drifted to his lovers long hair that was tied up in a neat tail, “Ianto, about the hair-”

Ianto lifted a hand as he swung back round the doorway and popped Jack’s bubble spectacularly, “I’ve already made an appointment at the barbers, don’t go getting any ideas”

As promised, by the time Jack was dressed and mostly awake, Ianto had coffee and only half burnt toast waiting for them. A significant improvement from the last time he’d charred it black, “You’re getting better” Jack teased as he took his usual seat across from Ianto at the table, “So, about Beth, do you know anything else about her? Planet of origin, species?”

“No, sorry” Ianto took a sip of his coffee and groaned aloud at the taste, it had been so long since he’d had a decent cup like this, “She has sort of blades that come out of her arms if she’s threatened though, texture similar to that of a zygone.”

Drinking his own coffee, Jack tried to focus on Ianto’s words and not his less than discrete moaning, “In that case I think we should use the mind probe,” Jack held his free hand up in surrender when Ianto went to argue with him, “I don’t like the idea of hurting Toshiko’s girlfriend any more than you do but if she’s not conscious of the fact she’s an alien then we may need to dig deeper” He took a bite of his incredibly well done toast and tried not to wince at the charred taste, “We’ll be careful, I promise”

-

“No Jack, I’m not bringing Beth here” Tosh crossed her arms and glared between Ianto and Jack as they cornered her in the office, “I don’t care what Ianto says, my girlfriend is not an alien!”

“Tosh, you’ve got to believe me, I-”

“We don’t even know where you _went_ Ianto,” Tosh found it hard to speak up as Ianto was her friend but he’d been back one day and was now accusing her girlfriend of being an alien with no evidence to back himself up, “You just left, vanished into thin air and come back pretending that everything is fine but it’s not” she stood firm, “I won’t bring Beth into Torchwood unless you give me concrete proof that she’s in danger.”

Jack really didn’t want to make it an order and so looked to Ianto instead, “Well? Do you have any proof?”

“I…” Ianto sighed, running a hand down his face as he forced the admission out, “I saw it with my own eyes, it’s complicated and I know it doesn't make sense but I’ve met her Tosh and I know she’s an alien”

Tosh was just glaring at him now, Jack forgotten in their battle of wills, “Prove it”

Scouring his memory for something he could use, Ianto felt his cheeks heat up as something came to mind, “Um, she has a birthmark on her left thigh, looks a little like a strawberry” he tried his best to forget about the time he’d walked in on the two of them during the year but like all embarrassing memories it was seared into his mind.

There was no way Ianto could have known that, “How?” Tosh took a step back, “How do you know that?”

“Yes, how _do_ you know that?” Jack frowned, jealously coming off him in waves

“Oh please,” Ianto rolled his eyes at the very idea, “You know I would never Jack”

Seemingly realising he was being a tool, Jack nodded, “Yeah, I do” and turned to Toshiko instead, “Beth needs to be assessed, if she’s human then fine we can retcon her to forget about the whole thing but if she’s not then we need to know she’s not a threat”

“She’s not,” Tosh insisted, “I think I would know if my girlfriend was an alien”

If Jack were a less kind man he would have pointed out she didn’t the first time round with Mary but he was a kind man and instead allowed Toshiko to storm away to do as she was told, “I hope you’re right about this”

“I am” Ianto insisted, “I don’t want to be, but I am”

Tosh brought Beth in on Jack’s orders after lunch, it was clear from her body language that Toshiko wasn’t happy with the turn of events but Beth seemed to be handling it very well. She’d had a lot of questions to begin with, had denied a lot of what they were showing her but eventually came to the conclusion that her girlfriend had one of the best jobs in the world.

“This is where you work?” Beth held her girlfriends hand as she was given a brief tour around the place

“Yep. Cosy, isn’t it?” Tosh gave Ianto a cold look as he walked by, she had thought of him as a friend but she could hardly recognise him anymore.

“Who are these people?” Beth had seen the look Toshiko gave her colleague and thought it was a little out of character, Tosh was usually so sweet, she didn’t have a nasty bone in her body.

“This is the substitute family I was telling you about, of course I would have liked for you to meet under different circumstances...”

“Why am I here?” Beth asked

“He,” Tosh pointed at Ianto, “thinks you’re an alien”

Beth looked down at herself as if to check she hadn’t grown any extra legs, “But I’m not an alien”

“I know that, you know that” Tosh gave her hand a quick squeeze, “we’ve just got to show them”

Owen waited for a lull in conversation before he made his way over, raising an eyebrow when he saw what Beth was doing, “We don’t sniff the subetheric resonator”

“Sorry” she stopped immediately, “It’s so big. This is crazy.”

“Yep.” Owen agreed, “Come on. Let’s just get these tests done, then you can get home, okay? Come on, Tosh. We’ll start with a few blood tests. Nothing to worry about, just a little needle.” Only it wasn’t just a little needle, it was three little needles and a very confused medic trying to make sense of it all, “Huh, the needles keep snapping”

“Haven’t you got a nurse to do this?” Beth asked, not completely confident in Owen’s methods of taking blood

“He’s a doctor.” Gwen assured her as Tosh stopped scowling at Ianto so she could glare at Owen instead, “It’s okay.”

After the fourth needle, Beth was clinging to Tosh for dear life, “Okay, look, I’m not gonna do this if you can’t even-”

“Owen!” Tosh tried to push him away as he advanced with a scalpel looking rather stabby, “What are you doing?”

“Bear with me.” He pressed the blade into Beth’s arm even as she struggled away from him and watched as the end snapped off, “When was the last time you were in hospital, Beth?”

Rubbing her arm where she’d been stabbed to no effect, Beth continued to cling to her girlfriend, “I don’t remember. I don’t think I ever have. Why, what’s wrong with me?”

“Well, any operations? Checkups?” Owen found it extremely odd that her medical record was practically empty, maybe Ianto wasn’t completely off his rocker, “When was the last time you felt ill? Have you had a cold?”

Beth shrugged, “I don’t think I ever have. I take a lot of vitamin C.”

“Hmm. Hell of a lot, I reckon.” Owen took a step back and started taking notes so he wouldn’t forget anything

“Okay, Beth.” Jack crossed his arms as he was given enough proof that she wasn’t completely human, “You have an abnormally empty record, we can’t break your skin. What planet are you from?”

“Earth! I’m not a flipping alien, I work in an office, tell them Tosh.”

Tosh did exactly that, “Stop wasting our time Jack, she’s human”

“I don’t know about my skin, or any of that other stuff” Beth was close to crying as her girlfriends colleagues weren’t backing down, “I just- how can I prove it to you? How can I prove to you that I’m not an alien?”

“We could always use the mind-”

“Don’t even finish that sentence Jack” Tosh warned him, “Remember what happened the last time we used it?”

“That was different.” Jack insisted as Ianto slipped off to get it, “That species has extremely high blood pressure.”

Owen couldn’t help but snort, not completely onboard with the idea even if Beth was an alien, “Oh, right. Their heads must explode all the time.”

“Jack, you can’t do this. What if you’re wrong? If she’s human, it’ll kill her.” Tosh was begging now, “Please, she hasn’t hurt anyone, just leave her alone”

Taking the probe off Ianto as he returned with it, Jack gestured for Owen to restrain Beth, “I’m not wrong. We have to find out what she is.”

Sighing, Owen decided to get with the program and moved Beth to the chair Ianto had brought out from storage earlier that morning, finally understanding why he’d bothered in the first place, “Take it easy, Jack. Stop at the first sign of trouble.”

“Or the first sign of exploding.” Ianto added just quiet enough for only Jack to hear and got a disapproving look for his trouble

Tosh could only watch helplessly as Owen strapped her girlfriend to her chair. She knew if she kicked up a fuss that Jack would be forced to remove her but that didn’t make it any easier to watch as the woman she loved was tied down and exploited, “How does this work?” Beth asked, trying not to freak out as a metal helmet was strapped to her head

“The probe drills down through your consciousness, so if there’s anything hidden, it’ll pop to the surface.” Jack explained

“Will it hurt?” She asked

Not going to lie, Jack nodded, “Yeah.” 

Beth managed a weak smile, “Your bedside manner’s rubbish.”

“You should see his manners in bed.” Gwen told her, “They’re atrocious. Apparently. So I’ve heard.”

Hoping to lift to atmosphere a little, Ianto decided to play along, “Oh, they are. I remember this one time-”

“Ahem.” Jack cleared his throat as Tosh glared daggers at him, maybe that hadn’t been his best idea, “All right. We all ready?”

Beth licked her lips and nodded as best she could with the metal helmet on, “I suppose.”

“Okay, we’ll do this slowly. Ianto will control the probe, Owen will make sure you’re not in danger, and Gwen will have water when you need it. And Tosh will be right here, okay?” Jack wasn’t heartless, he could clearly see Tosh was having a hard time doing this and Beth was obviously quite scared. Just because he had a job to do doesn’t mean he had to like it

“And what about you? What do you do?” Beth demanded

Jack uncrossed his arms and shoved his hands inside his pockets, “I’ll be watching.”


	13. The Homosexual Agenda

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, just a little note here to let you know this chapter contains a small amount of homophobia near the end. Don’t read if it makes you uncomfortable.

When Jack told him to start up the probe, Ianto had to admit he was having second thoughts. He knew Beth was an alien but was this really the best way to go about proving it? It didn’t help that Tosh hadn’t stopped sending him nasty looks since he outed her girlfriend as the extraterrestrial she really was, what if by doing this he was irrevocably damaging his friendship with Toshiko? She had been his first real friend in this crazy new time, Jack didn’t count as they were already in love even if he hadn’t admitted it to himself at that time. He had never meant to hurt Toshiko and by pressing this button he might be saying goodbye to her friendship for a very long time, if not forever.

“Ianto? I said we should start” Jack prompted him and Ianto gulped as he looked down at the button, by doing this was he any better than The Master?

Beth caught his eye and nodded, “Just get it over with” and so with a heavy heart, Ianto started up the probe, watching with barely concealed horror as the woman’s body racked in pain, “I’m human.”

“Safe.” Owen was monitoring her vitals closely

Jack took a step forward and put a hand on Tosh’s shoulder as tears began to roll down her cheeks, “What are you Beth?” 

“I don’t know- I-” She groaned in pain as sparks danced over the helmet

Jack checked in with Owen, “Safe.”

He asked his next question, “What planet are you from?”

“I’m human! Oh, God, it hurts.” Beth begged, “Please, please, stop”

Jack’s friendly hand on Toshiko’s shoulder turned into a firm grip on her upper arm to stop her from touching Beth, she could hurt herself badly if she intervened, “Go deeper” 

“Are you sure?” Ianto twitched as Beth muffled a scream, feeling very uncomfortable doing this, maybe there was another way, “She-” 

Jack wasn’t listening though and barked at him, “Do it!”

Ianto squared his jaw and looked to Owen for his judgement, “Vital signs are all over the place, but still safe”

The change was visible in Beth as Ianto increased the pressure, her back bowed and her limbs trained against their restraints violently as Jack continued his line of questioning, “Why are you here?” 

“I don’t know.” She sobbed, “Make it stop.”

“For God’s sake Jack,” Tosh struggled against him fruitlessly, “Stop it!” 

Ianto followed his orders feeling sick to his stomach as Jack said, “Go deeper.” Checking in with Owen first to see if he would put a stop to this but all he did was tell him it was still safe, “Deeper” Jack repeated himself as Beth began to scream, thankfully Ianto didn’t have to follow that last request as the lights started flickering and alarms sounded around them 

“The electromagnetic pulse is going off the scale.” He rattled off the readings as Beth slumped in the chair. For one dreadful moment Ianto thought he had killed her, guilt, horror and disgust welled up in his throat, he thought he was going to be sick, or pass out, perhaps both but then Beth sat up again and the skin on her right forearm began to peel back.

“Oh my god” Tosh stopped struggling against Jack as red lights underneath her girlfriends skin came to the surface, “Beth?”

Jack pulled her back gently as she tried to touch her, “I wouldn’t get that close Tosh. Ianto, what happened?”

It had taken Ianto a good month or two before he could confidently use the equipment in the hub, one advantage of being from the past was that everything nowadays was new to him which included the alien tech. He learnt how to read Owen’s subetheric resonator two weeks before mastering the art of Google, “Hit a buried compartment” he looked at the screen instead of at his teammates, “Locked away. She wasn’t aware of it, just like I said”

Jack just nodded and got back to his questions, “Who are you?”

“Kayehla Janees. Putaak graszh, ish nin fas du happ vacc nal.” Beth replied in a new voice

He tried again, “Where are you from?”

“Kayehla Janees. Putaak graszh, ish nin fas du happ vacc nal.” She repeated herself

Cocking his head to one side, Jack looked down at his feet, “How do you like my boots?”

He just got the same response, “Kayehla Janees. Putaak graszh, ish nin fas du happ vacc nal.”

“Jack, what is it? What is she saying?” Tosh didn’t whimper but it was close, why was it always her that ended up falling in love with masquerading aliens?

Recognising the speech pattern but not the language, Jack told them what he knew, “Name, rank, serial number, and that’s all she’s gonna say.” He had full confidence in Ianto but now he did have to wonder how he knew she was an alien in the first place, it was her job to plod through life on earth undetected and as intelligent as his lover was, there was no way he should have found out.

“How do you know?” Owen asked as he kept a keen eye on her vitals just incase

“Because I know who she is and why she’s here.” He turned to Ianto, “Switch off the probe.”

He did so gladly, the second he hit the switch Beth’s arm returned to it’s normal state and she began to wake up, “Oh, you weren’t lying.” She groaned, “That really hurt. Did you find anything?”

-

Ianto had needed a minute after Beth’s interrogation was finished and took himself off to the men’s to splash cold water on his face. His hands shook and most of the water ended up on his shirt but he didn’t care. All he could think about was Beth’s screams as he tortured her, yes he was acting on Jack’s orders and yes they had needed to figure out exactly what she was incase others like her came to Earth but they hadn’t needed to be so violent. There might have been another way but Jack had acted in fear, taking the quickest route, and Ianto had let him.

“Ianto” Tosh slammed the door open and stormed up to him with miniature inferno’s trapped inside her eyes, she looked like she could kill him without a second thought and only faltered for a split second when she saw what state he was in before ripping into him, “What you just did was unbelievable, I thought you were my friend but I don’t even know you. You’ve been back one day and you’ve already tried to kill two people” she squared her shoulders, “You’ve changed, wherever you went, whatever you did, you brought a darkness back with you and I-” she blinked fiercely to stop her traitorous eyes from tearing up, “Stay away, okay? From Beth and from me, Jack’s handling it and I think you should go”

“Right” Ianto slipped his shaking hands into his pockets and forced his voice to stay even as it threatened to wobble, “I guess I’ll go home, for what it’s worth Tosh I’m sor-”

“You don’t get to apologise” She told him fiercely, turning her back on him and leaving him alone in the men’s once again feeling a hell of a lot worse than before she came in. She was right though, Ianto told himself as he left the hub as quietly as possible, he did have a darkness about him now. It was different to when he came back from the war, while those years had been full of violence and pain it had all been for something. At the end of it all he went back home to Lisa and Jack, he settled down, joined Torchwood and tried to make a difference.

Now though, he felt as though he was lost. Before he had Jack to lean on, they both had shared experience, they could catch each other when they fell but now he really was alone. Gwen couldn’t remember their time together or their friendship, Jack couldn’t remember fighting so hard for each other and now even Tosh didn’t seem to think he was worth her time. Not that he could blame her, if the tables had been turned and it had been her torturing Jack he didn’t know what he would have done. 

Actually he would have staged a rescue, gotten shot, almost died and then somehow get a shard of vortex energy stuffed inside him which caused him to be unable to touch the man he had saved.

Perhaps Tosh had let him off lightly in retrospect… then again he and Jack never did things by halves.

What he needed, Ianto decided, was to take a walk. He’d be back home before Jack that evening as not to worry him but right now he needed to clear his head and really how dangerous was a park compared to troops of brainwashed soldiers trying to gun him down for their lord and Master?

-

Jack was waiting in the boardroom for Tosh and Ianto when the former walked in by herself, “Where’s Ianto?” He’d seen him wander off after they got Beth out of the chair and hadn’t thought much of it but now he was getting slightly concerned, “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, I sent him home” Tosh took her seat next to Beth and held her hand, she wasn’t about to let Jack send another one of her girlfriends into the sun, this one wasn’t dangerous, she knew it, “I didn’t think Beth would feel comfortable with him here”

Gwen felt a surge of protectiveness well up inside her, she wasn’t sure when it happened but at some point something inside her had clicked and Ianto had become someone to protect, “Why? Jack was the one giving the orders”

“Alright alright, we can all have a row later” Owen nipped the confrontation in the bud, they could all hash it out when he wasn’t around to listen to it, “It’s probably for the best he went home anyway, he should be on bed rest”

“Right,” Jack agreed even if he was a little peeved that Tosh had dismissed Ianto, he’d have to check up on him later, “I suppose we should discuss the matter at hand. To put it simply Beth is a sleeper agent. It all clicked when I saw the implant.”

“A what?” Beth felt a little out of her depth, Toshiko had shown her a short clip of her talking alien gibberish but actually being told she was an extraterrestrial was something else, “My whole life, all my memories, they can’t be fake. I know I love Toshiko,” she squeezed her girlfriends hand, “and she loves me.”

“I do,” Tosh squeezed her hand back just as tightly, “Of course I do.”

“So what’s real?” Beth asked

Jack looked between the two women and asked himself what Ianto would do, a question that had guided him for years in the mans absence even when he had no idea if they would ever meet again. Eventually he came to his decision, “You both are. You both fell in love. That happened. Do you feel human?”

“Yes.” Beth looked at him with wide, honest eyes, “I wouldn’t know how to feel anything else”

Jack smiled, “Well, then you are. What makes us human? Is it our minds or our bodies?”

“And what happens when the disguise comes off?” Beth needed answers, “I want to have kids one day. Is feeling human enough for that? Can you fix me? Can you make me human?”

He should have known a happy ending would come so easily, “No. Eventually you’ll activate. Your real memories will come back, and Beth will disappear.”

“What do you mean activate?” Tosh demanded, “There has got to be a way to stop it”

“No one knows very much” Jack admitted, “They don’t leave survivors. Official designation is Cell 114. They infiltrate planets, adapting their bodies, gathering intelligence, sometimes for years, watching, until they’re ready to take over.” He told them bluntly, getting straight to the point, “If we’re lucky, she’s the first. They send an advance guard to gather intel, given false memories so they blend in, by the time they attack they know every single thing about the planet.”

Jack pulled up the information they’d managed to get from the implant, it really was a remarkable piece of technology. Practically undetectable, normal X-rays don’t show it, she was projecting a false image with all this data stored inside.

“This is a forcefield generator.” Jack gestured to the screen, “It creates an impervious layer above the skin, just a nanometre thick. That’s why you couldn’t get the needle inside her.”

Owen was glad to get an explanation even if he did feel a bit stupid for not coming to the conclusion himself, “Right, well. God, look” he pointed, “They even know about us.”

“They know more about this place than I do.” Jack agreed, grateful Ianto wasn’t here to get his shirt up over the fact

“What if there’s more of them?” Gwen asked, the mental image of hundreds of Beth’s taking over the planet playing behind her eyes, “What are we gonna do about this?”

Afraid not only of the situation but also of herself, Beth withdrew her hand from Toshiko’s grasp and wrapped her arms around herself, “What’s going to happen to me?”

“Once you gather enough information, you’ll send it back home and start the invasion.” Jack told her, “Unless we can find a way to stop it”

“You can do that?” She asked hopefully

Jack looked between Tosh and Beth and spoke honestly, “We can try, all this technology, everything we work for. I’m not just going to keep you locked up, I won’t rest until you’re safe, you have my word”

“Thank you Jack” Tosh wiped her eyes discreetly, she should have known he would help them, he was a good man and she shouldn’t have doubted him

-

Ianto cursed when half an hour into his walk, his leg started complaining. The old wound playing up and forcing him to take a seat on one of the many park benches. Had he known what was about to happen he might have carried on walking and sought refuge in the little café around the corner instead. Jack, however, knew him better and would argue he’d stay right were he was because he had a nose for trouble.

It was a common enough occurrence in this so called ‘modern’ age, something that happened to hundreds of people everyday all across the world but that didn’t mean it was right. It was _never_ right. 

Ianto had been sat on the park bench minding his own business when two teenage boys walked past holding hands, it was always slightly jarring for Ianto to see affection displayed so openly but the sight did bring a small smile to his lips for a short while. To see love expressed in a way he never could in his own youth, it gave him hope and the wish to be more courageous himself as he still battled inner demons when trying to do the same thing with Jack.

Change wouldn’t happen overnight, it happened in small steps over a long period of time. The smallest of actions could have the greatest of consequences and as Ianto was about to find out, sometimes all it took was one voice in the right place at the right time to stand up for what was right.

“Fags!” The two boys separated as if burnt as a third, older man spat at their feet, “You’re both going to hell, y’know that?”

“Hey” Ianto barked, getting to his feet with an anger sparking inside his chest he was all too familiar with only this time he could actually do something about it, “What did you just say?”

The bigot held his hands up, “Just putting these fags in their place, there’s children about that they’re poisoning with their homosexual agenda”

“You say that like I should give a shit,” Ianto inserted himself between the two teenagers and the older man, “leave these kids alone or I swear to god your body will be found in a coy pond” okay, Ianto thought to himself, not sure where that came from but it sounded vaguely threatening, “And I’m a big fan of the homosexual agenda so if I hear you say the word fag one more time-”

“Oh great, the baby fags have found themselves a daddy to protect them” The bigot smirked at him and Ianto _Lost. His. Shit._


	14. Fighting Fire with Fire

Jack had learnt to accept the fact that life with Ianto would never be dull, he loved that about their relationship, living with Ianto by his side made the world seem brighter in a way he couldn’t explain. That didn’t mean however, that Jack was a fan of all the surprises that Ianto flung his way. Disappearing without a trace in the 50’s for example was not a surprise Jack was fond of, Ianto adopting alien tortoises on the other hand, was nothing short of adorable.

It was safe to say it was the luck of the draw when it came to Mr Jones and his wild adventures but as Jack set his office phone back in its cradle he did have to wonder if he should assign Ianto a bloody body guard at this point. Janet might work, she’d keep him out of trouble, “I’ve got to go” he shrugged when Owen went to have a go at him for leaving half way through their brainstorm, “Ianto needs me”

“Why? Whats happened?” Gwen rose from her seat as Tosh stayed put in hers, “Is he alright?”

Jack sighed as he pulled on his coat, “Ianto is fine” one day he was going to shake some sense into that man, “He just needs me to pick him up”

“Is that really more important than figuring out how to stop Beth activating and ending the world?” Tosh didn’t regret giving Ianto a piece of her mind and she did think stopping an alien invasion was more important than him getting a lift but something in Jacks eyes warned her that this was more serious than he was letting on, “Where is he?”

“The police station” Jack told the team gruffly, already marching towards the cog door, “I’m going, no one follow me”

In the station, locked up in a depressingly dark cell, Ianto was resting his head against the cold brick behind him. He had his eyes closed and was trying to smooth the aching pains that were shooting up his wrist and dancing across his knuckles. Why did bigots always have the hardest of faces? After another minor freak out over being cuffed, Ianto had managed to calm down somewhat even if being locked up was making him want to rip off his own skin.

Thankfully he was alone in his cell and while the situation was far from pleasant, Ianto had to admit the conditions of his temporary imprisonment weren’t as awful as he was used to. He’d used his phone call to contact Jack, he’d briefly considered calling someone -anyone- else but figured his partner would be pissed if he found out later.

He arrived to post his bail far too soon, Ianto had been hoping for some more time to come up with a convincing way to spin his tale that would result in the subject being stopped quickly. He had no such luck, “Jack I-”

“Not a word until we’re in the car” Jack’s tone brooked no arguments as he led Ianto out of the station, he could tell by the set of his shoulders under the coat that Jack was upset, angry with him even and Ianto honestly didn’t know if he had it in him to endure a lecture right now without falling to pieces, “Right,” Jack turned to him once they were both comfortably seated in the SUV round the corner, he had an expectant look on his face but his eyes gave him away as they kept worriedly glancing at his injuries, “What happened? I left you alone for one afternoon and you end up getting arrested?”

Touching his no doubt heavily bruising eye self consciously, Ianto cleared his throat, “I got in a fight”

“I can see that,” Jack’s eyes drifted from his shiner to his damaged knuckles, “What happened?” When Ianto looked out of the window without responding, Jack reached the end of his tether, “Ianto, it’s me. I don’t know when you decided you couldn’t tell me stuff but you’re being an idiot. How long have we known each other? I’ve seen you at your worst as well as your best, and this? This situation we’ve found ourselves in? It’s breaking my heart.” He reached across the seats and held his hand, “I trust you more than I trust myself, I love you more than anything in this world and it terrifies me to think you can’t tell me what’s going on. What could be so terrible you couldn’t tell me after all we’ve been through together? Just…” he closed his eyes and took a calming breath, “ _talk to me_ ”

“I…” Ianto squeezed his eyes shut tight and pulled his hand away, “I can’t Jack”

“You can,” Jack pushed, knowing he shouldn’t but not caring, “You can talk to me and you know it. I’m right here Ianto, I know you’re scared but I am _right here._ ” 

Shaking his head, Ianto slumped in his seat and let out a long sigh, “There were two boys,” his hands were shaking as he ran them through his hair but Jack wouldn’t move to stop him unless he began hurting himself, “couldn’t have been more than 14 years old.”

“Hmm” Jack frowned to himself, not that Ianto was even looking, and wondered where this was going

“They were holding hands,” he explained slowly, “just walking through the park, not doing anyone any harm and then this, _this bigot_ spat at their feet, he called them faggots and told them they were going to hell. They weren’t doing anything _wrong_ Jack, I thought you said it got better, whats the point in all these new laws and all these parades and organisations if _nothing changes?_ They were just boys and they were scared”

“What did you do?”

“I bloody decked him, what else was I suppose to do?” Ianto asked defensively, “I warned him, I gave him the chance to apologise but he didn’t. He carried on and I thumped him, only he got a few hits as well and then the police scooped us both up. He got let off scot-free and it just made me so- so bloody _angry_ ”

“You don’t fight fire with more fire Ianto,” Jack didn’t know what he’d have done if he were in Ianto’s shoes but he couldn’t have his lover brawling with every homophobic arsehole he came across, it was dangerous, “Violence is never the right answer”

“I know that, I’m not- he deserved it” Ianto grumbled to himself as he rubbed his knuckles, “I’m not sorry I hurt him but I am sorry I had to drag you away from work to bail me out. How are things with Beth?”

“We’re no closer to finding a way to disarm her, sorry poor choice of words” Jack winced, “But don’t try and change the subject, we’re going to have to get Owen to check you over, make sure you’re alright”

“I’m fine” Ianto told him, “you should head back to the hub and see what you can do for Beth, I’ll just head back home”

Jack scoffed as he started the engine, “Are you kidding? I’m not letting you out of my sight. No, you’re coming back to the hub with me. Tosh should never have sent you home in the first place”

“She was only trying to protect Beth, she has every right to be angry with me” Ianto rubbed his eyes, “She was right, I’m not the same”

“What are you talking about?” Jack’s frown was audible in his voice now, “Of course you are”

Ianto wasn’t really paying him any attention though, Toshiko was right he did have a darkness inside. He was violent and angry, he was going to destroy everything and everyone he touched, he was no better than The Master, “Jack, I- I need to use your phone” Ianto focused on his breathing, trying not to spiral as the invasive thoughts just kept getting louder, “Your mobile phone, where is it?”

“In my pocket, Ianto are you okay?” Jack fumbled for his phone and managed to hand it over without crashing, “Who are you calling?”

“Martha Jones”


	15. Getting Help

When Martha Jones received a phone call from Captain Jack Harkness’ personal cell, she honestly thought the world was ending. He hadn’t contacted her at all since she returned home with Chantho so a random call from out of the blue had her looking out of the window to make sure the sky wasn’t falling, “Dr Jones speaking”

“Martha” Ianto clenched and unclenched his fists rhythmically in his lap, “It’s Ianto, I need your help” he refused to look at Jack even as his partner kept sending him worried glances from the drivers seat, it was hard enough for Ianto to admit he needed help, he didn’t need Jack looking at him like he’d lost his mind as well, “Everything’s wrong”

“Ianto!” Martha was doubly surprised to hear from him, she had thought he was still with The Doctor after all, “What’s the matter? How long have you been back?” She could get the first train out of London but explaining this to her bosses was going to be a tad difficult

“Uh, two days” Ianto counted backwards from a hundred in his head to try and stay focused, “Maybe I shouldn’t have called, it’s not important-”

Martha wouldn’t hear a word of it, “Stop it, I’m already on my way. I’ll be in Cardiff as soon as I can, are you with someone?” He didn’t sound too good and she honestly didn’t know what to expect, after the year they’d had it was hardly a surprise he wasn’t handling it too well.

“I’m with Jack” Ianto told her, “I’m not about to do anything stupid if that’s what you’re worrying about” Martha let out a sigh of relief even as Jack tensed next to him, he should bloody hope Ianto wasn’t about to do something stupid, just how much had he missed?

Jack listened in on the rest of the call unashamedly, from the sounds of it Ianto knew Martha quite well and she was coming to visit as soon as she could get away from work. Why Ianto had called her instead of talking to him puzzled Jack, the only logical explanation was that during their shared travels with The Doctor, something bad had happened that Ianto felt he could only discuss with her.

Green was not Jack’s colour but he couldn’t help but feel jealous that Ianto had seemingly chosen Martha over him, “So, do you know Martha well?” That really shouldn’t be the question Jack was asking but he couldn’t help himself, “Spend much time together on the Tardis?”

“Not on the Tardis no,” Ianto shook his head feeling dreadful and numb inside, “I just… I think she is the only one who can help me with this”

“Right,” Jack pursed his lips. He should be happy, he told himself, Ianto was getting the help he needed, so what if it wasn’t coming from him what mattered was that he was getting the help, “Well good for you guys then, we can just go back to the house if you don’t feel up for facing everyone at the hub. Talk to Martha together when she gets here”

The dread and numbness were joined by a sense of awkward reluctance and Ianto had to practically force the next few words out of his mouth, each of them prickling like barbed wire, “I’d rather talk to her in private Jack, if that’s alright”

“That’s fine,” Jack said the words quickly even if his response was delayed, “whatever, I’ll go back to the hub then and work on the whole Beth situation”

“Yeah,” Ianto licked his lips nervously as he picked at his nails, “I guess I’ll see you later then? When you get back from work?”

Jack might be letting Ianto have some privacy but he could never leave him on his own for an entire night, he’d worry himself sick, “Of course, I’ll call ahead so I don’t disturb you both”

Ianto didn’t want to get out of the car when they arrived back at the house, he didn’t want to leave things like this between himself and Jack but he couldn’t see a way to make things any better, “Jack?” He put his hand on the door as his partner went to drive away, “I love you”

“I love you too” Jack forced a smile and even he had to admit he sounded strained before he pulled away in the SUV and drove back to the hub, at least he could help there instead of being pushed away for reasons he didn’t even understand.

-

It took Martha three hours to get to Cardiff after Ianto called her and another twenty minutes to get a taxi to the address he’d given her, the house was obviously old and very well kept judging by the blackened brick and tidy front garden. A part of her couldn’t imagine Jack living in a place like this but then again she couldn’t imagine Ianto living anywhere else, “Martha, come in” Ianto opened the door almost immediately after her first knock, looking over her shoulder, “No Chantho?”

“No, she couldn’t get away.” She explained as Ianto took her coat, “UNIT have assigned her a time sensitive project- you look awful”

Ianto laughed humourlessly as he led Martha inside, gesturing that she should take a seat in the living room, “Thanks, can I get you anything? Tea, coffee?”

“Sorry, no thanks” Martha had the good grace to look embarrassed before diving into the reason she was here, “How are you Ianto? On the phone you sounded… lost”

“I’m…” Ianto sank down into his armchair, so familiar to the one he used to have in the house he shared with Lisa, and played with his fingers nervously, “Honestly? I’m a wreck Martha, after… everything, I just- I can’t- urgh” he hid his face in his hands, “I’m just wrong”

“Have you spoke to Jack about it?” She asked calmly from her spot on the sofa, not moving to invade his space, “I expect he had a lot of questions when you came back, he doesn’t remember what happened after all”

“I can’t put this on Jack,” Ianto argued with her, “I cannot weigh him down with this, he has so much on his shoulders already, I don’t want to add to it”

“Okay,” Martha hedged, “So you don’t want to talk to Jack about how you’re feeling, that’s fine. You don’t have an obligation to share anything with anyone if you’re not comfortable as long as you’re not hurting yourself in the process.” She told him gently, “But Ianto, you need to talk to _someone_ about what you’re feeling, you’ve been through hell this last year, I can’t even imagine what you went through during your time onboard the Valiant. My family have told me a little of course but by the sounds of it you received the brunt of Saxons frustrations”

“What about you?” Ianto challenged her, “Who have you been talking to?”

The way Martha kept calm somehow managed to rile Ianto up even more, “Me? I’ve spoken to Chantho, we discuss things a lot but I’ve also spoken to a few counsellors offered by UNIT who were already briefed on the year. I’ve found it really helpful, so have my family” Martha wanted to reach out but kept her hands to herself, “For what its worth I think you should consider doing the same, counselling isn’t admitting defeat, it’s a way to help you process the trauma you’ve been through”

“I never had any after the war,” Ianto argued stubbornly, a small ugly part of himself telling him he was too proud to break like that, “This is different, when I came home from the war I was a mess but this time… I’m just so angry Martha, I’m afraid I’m going to hurt someone” he swallowed audibly, “Tosh told me I have this darkness inside and I can’t shake the feeling she was right, what if after everything- what if I’m too broken?”

“Oh Ianto,” Martha looked like she was going to cry but she held herself together, “I’m so sorry you feel that way, listen I’m not going to sit here and tell you that everything is going to magically be okay again right away, god knows I still struggle with it sometimes but what I can tell you is that everything you’re feeling? It’s all valid, the anger, the fear, all of it but you’re not broken”

Sighing, Ianto scrubbed a hand down his face, “Today has already been too much and it’s not even five o’clock yet”

“Why?” Martha settled back not he sofa with the distinct feeling a story was about to be told, “What else happened today?”

“Well,” Ianto laughed, this time not completely humourless, “lets just say this comedy detective found himself not he other side of the bars this afternoon”

-

Gwen thought it was strange when Jack returned to the hub without Ianto but had the tact and good sense not to mention it. Owen did not have said sense, “Oi, where’s Ianto? Thought you said he got himself in trouble?”

“He’s busy” Jack grunted, eyes zeroing in on Toshiko, not breaking his stride as he spoke to her, “Tosh, my office, we need to talk”

Ianto hadn’t been at his best that morning but he’d been alright, his lover had held himself together and faced the day head on just like he always did. Even when he was broken and beaten down, Ianto always picked himself back up, pushed his problems to one side and carried on. That’s why when he chose to step down and stay away from the hub, Jack knew something had changed. Toshiko had said something to him before he left and Jack needed to know what so he could fix it, “Close the door behind you and take a seat”

“What is this about Jack, is Ianto alright?” Tosh took the seat across from Jacks desk with concern, she might not be not he best of terms with Ianto right now but she still cared about his wellbeing

“No, he’s not” his lover was a mess and Jack felt helpless, “What did you say to him earlier?”

“I-” Tosh stopped herself, looking both guilty and determined, “I told him to go home because Beth wouldn’t feel safe around him. To be fair he had just accused her of being an alien-”

“Which he was right about”

“-and used the mind probe on her.” Tosh looked out of the office windows down to where Gwen was offering Beth a cup of tea, “He’s different Jack, you can tell me he’s not. Something has changed and I’m not sure I feel safe around him anymore. Has he even told you where he went?”

“No,” Jack refused to let her know she’d hit a nerve, “but I trust him. I can’t order you to trust him as well but please Tosh, when has he ever hurt you?”

“He hurt me when he strapped Beth to that chair” She told him

“I was the one who ordered him to use the mind probe, be mad at me not him” Jack crossed him arms and leant over the desk, “He needs all the friends he can get at the minute. You’re right I don’t know where he went or what happened to him while he was away but I can promise you it was nothing pleasant”

Wavering, Tosh sighed, “Ianto is my friend Jack, I don’t like the fact that he’s hurt but we could have handled this situation differently”

“I was the one who pushed to use the probe” Jack repeated himself, “He tried to stop me, I didn’t listen. He could have kept this to himself, if he hadn’t of told us about Beth we may never have realised, would you really prefer her to wake up one day and go on a killing spree? Ianto saved us, big time, you may not be able to see it now but he saved Beth, he’s a good man.” A good man that he’d just had to bail out at the police station for brawling with a homophobe and resisting arrest, a good man that wouldn’t talk to him about what he was going through. A good man Jack feared he was losing, “Just something to think about Toshiko, you’re dismissed”

-

“So why UNIT?” Ianto asked as he handed Martha the coffee he’d finally persuaded her to take, “I told you Jack would set you up with Torchwood if you asked”

“That was the plan originally” Martha let the warmth from the mug soak into her hands before taking her first sip, “Wow, uh, right, Chantho and I got dropped off in London, we were going to drive down once my family got settled but then UNIT offered me this position, paid for the rest of my medical training and even hired Chantho as a technicians expert”

“Sounds like you landed on your feet” Ianto noted, sipping his own fresh cup of heaven, “How is Chantho?”

“She’s doing better, loves Earth now she has the chance to enjoy it instead of worrying over trying to save it” Martha smiled, “I’ve been teaching her how to dance, she obviously can’t go to any classes since she’d stick out like a sore thumb so I’ve been going and reporting everything back to her. She’s getting quite good”

Ianto looked down into his cup with a small, fond smile, “I love dancing, I was god awful at it to begin with, I had two left feet and moved around as if I had lead in my shoes but after a while I got better at it. You had to in those days, you went to a party, you danced, a wedding, you danced. Hell even in your own home, we didn’t have all these gadgets you kids have nowadays” Ianto teased her, “Books and conversation, killed by the smartphone”

“Oh shut up Grandad” Martha rolled her eyes, “You love it here”

“You know, I do” Ianto admitted, feeling lighter in her presence. With Martha he didn’t have to pretend everything was okay, as much as being a mess scared him he knew she wouldn’t judge or ask questions, “Though sometimes I do miss pre-decimal currency, flipping confusing the lot of ya”

“Excuse me, your currency didn’t even make any sense!” Martha argued, “Decimal currency is so much simpler”

“Two farthings to one half penny. Two half pennies to one penny. Three pennies, a thruppenny bit. Two thrupence to a sixpence and two of those to a shilling. Two of them to a florin and one of florin and a sixpence to half a crown. Four half crowns is a ten bob note.” Ianto enjoyed Martha’s baffled expression probably more than he should as he rattled off some more, “Two ten bob notes to a pound, otherwise known as two-hundred and forty pennies. One pound and one shilling to a Guinea” he smirked, “How hard is that to understand?”

“That’s bonkers” Martha shook her head, “Absolutely bonkers, you’re making that up”

“I am not” Ianto chuckled, when was the last time he’d laughed? Too long, “Thank you for coming Martha, you’ve given me a lot to think about”

Relieved, Martha asked, “So you’ll give counselling a thought?”

Not one to like admitting he needed help, Ianto despised the thought of baring his soul to a stranger. Then again he was also a man who knew how to pick his battles, he’d take his own discomfort at being vulnerable over dragging Jack down with him any day, “I think it’s a good idea, can you give me the contact information of these people from UNIT?” It’s not like Torchwood had anything like that set up and he trusted Martha’s judgment

“Of course,” Martha pulled out her phone and smiled when Ianto handed her a pad of paper and a pen, some old habits must die hard she supposed, “Here, I recommend Dr Gellar, he’s actually based in Cardiff, but everyone listed is certified as a counsellor”

“Thank you,” he would look into them later, “They all know about…”

“Yes, they were all briefed on the year” She assured him, “And anything you say to them is strictly confidential so you don’t have to worry about that” Martha couldn’t stop much longer, she was staying at a hotel nearby and was only really staying until Jack got home to keep Ianto company. In the meantime he introduced her to the tortoises and she firmly approved of their names, Voldetort even squeaked at her.

It wasn’t long before Jack sent Ianto a message to let him know he was on his way so with a firm squeeze goodbye Martha left Ianto to mentally prepare himself for the conversation he knew was undoubtedly bubbling to the surface between him and Jack. He didn’t like how they left things earlier, he didn’t know what it was but he was feeling a disconnect between them and Ianto didn’t like it in the slightest.

He knew it wasn’t the vortex energy inside him, he didn’t feel the same fizzing pain beneath his skin when Jack came close, instead he felt this kind of… pressure. It had been a long time since he and Jack… were intimate, at least it had been for him and since then his body hadn’t exactly been subject to much pleasure. He felt as though he was constantly tense, waiting for the next hit as it were and the more he thought about it the more he began to overanalyse it.

“Ianto? It’s me” Jack closed the front door and locked it behind him, “Is Martha still here?”

“No, she left half an hour ago” Ianto was curled up in his arch chair by the window when Jack found him, he looked deep in thought, “She’s coming round again tomorrow though, said she’d like to see you before she heads back to London”

“Yeah, it would be nice to get some answers” Jack dithered for a moment before tossing his coat on the back of the sofa and taking a seat on the closest side to Ianto, “How are you feeling?” As much as this whole situation was scaring him, no matter how frustrated he got, Jack knew he had to be there for Ianto. He wasn’t about to give up.

The words ‘I’m fine’ were on the tip of Ianto tongue but as he met Jack’s eyes he knew he couldn’t carry on lying, “Not great, better than earlier but…” he sighed, “Something happened, while I was away and I can’t talk to you about it, I don’t want to put this on you” he admitted, “It’s something I’ve got to work through by myself, does that make sense Jack?”

“You know you can talk to me about anything, I want to know what happened” Jack felt like he’d said that more in the last two days than he had done in the last two decades, “Your problems _are_ my problems”

“Not these problems” Ianto shook his head, it wasn’t just that he didn’t want to burden Jack, he supposed a small part of him didn’t want to open up because he felt weak, “I need you to trust me Jack, please”

“With my life, always” Jack told him earnestly, scooting as close as he could get, “I’m just worried about you”

Ianto smiled and offered him a hand, feeling a wave of comfort crash over him when Jack took it without hesitation, “I know” he worried his bottom lip for a moment before using his free hand to pass Jack the list of UNIT counsellors Martha had given him, “I was thinking about talking to someone about it, a neutral party. Martha said it might help” Ianto felt his chest tighten as Jack looked down at the list with a small frown on his face, “What do you think?”

“I think…” Jack paused and chose his next words very carefully, well aware that Ianto had just made himself incredibly vulnerable, “that you should do what is best for you. If that means talking to one of these counsellors then I will support you 100%. You deserve to feel comfortable and safe”

Ianto deflated with relief and squeezed Jack’s hand gently, “Thank you” It was a small step but it was one in the right direction.


	16. Making a Headway

“What if we just freeze her?” Owen was running out of ideas on how to deactivate Toshiko’s girlfriend and was running out of patience as every single thing he suggested got shot down, “It’s not like we haven’t kept people frozen for years on end anyway, she’d be fine”

“We’re not freezing her” Tosh hissed back, looking over her shoulder to see if Gwen or Beth had heard, “There has to be a way we can disarm her, lock off the alien side. We just need to isolate the genetic triggers”

“Great,” Owen threw his arms out wide with an expectant look, “and how do you propose we do that then?”

Taking a moment to calm down, Tosh told herself she had to look at this logically. She would find a way to help Beth sooner if she stopped letting emotion cloud her judgement, “Maybe Jack knows of a way,” she hedged, “did he say what time he and Ianto were coming in today?” It was strange to be in the hub before Jack in the morning and doubly so without an explanation

“Apparently they had a rough night, didn’t tell me much over the phone but they should be in by 10 at the latest” Owen was a doctor and whatever he may have been told would be kept confidential, “And Tosh? I know Ianto outed your girlfriend as an alien and everythin’ but cut him some slack yeah? Don’t forget how bloody awful he looked when we found him”

“Yeah, maybe your right” Tosh had thought a lot about that last night, maybe she had overreacted a little. She knew Ianto was only trying to do the right thing but she stood by her statement that he’d changed. That didn’t mean she couldn’t try and be the friend he deserved right now though

-

“We’re going to be late,” Ianto huffed as he hurried around their bedroom trying to make himself presentable, “We _are_ late”

Jack watched him carefully as he wrestled with his tie, still reclined in bed wearing his pyjamas, “Ianto relax, I called Owen about an hour ago when I woke up to let him know we’ll be in later” in all honesty when Jack had woken up barely an hour after he’d managed to coax Ianto to sleep to see the first rays of sun peeking through the gap in the curtains, he hadn’t the heart to wake him up.

Ianto had clung to him all night, stiff as a board as Jack told him story after story that he’d no doubt heard countless times before but it was the only thing he could think to do to help him get to sleep. It eventually worked but if Ianto was going to be of any use he needed his sleep and two measly hours weren’t going to cut it.

So he’d let him sleep in, he should have known Ianto would get huffy and puffy when he woke up, “Come here,” Jack sat up in bed and reached out for the tie Ianto was near strangling himself with, “let me do it”

With a resigned sigh, Ianto let his hands drop as he shuffled over to stand between Jack’s legs, “I can do it”

“But you know how much I like tying your tie for you,” Jack smiled up at him as he smoothed the fabric down, “Now whenever I see you during the day I’ll remember how you let me do this for you this morning. I like feeling useful too you know”

“Thank you” Ianto ran his fingers through Jack’s hair almost absently as he pressed a short kiss to his forehead, “For everything”

Soaking up the attention while he could, Jack wrapped his arms around Ianto’s waist and enjoyed the cuddle. It wasn’t the same though, before where Ianto’s soft tummy had been almost squishy when he pressed his face into it, his nose was met with sharp ribs and the cold reminder that Ianto wasn’t well, “We’ll get through this together,” he promised, looking up as he spoke softly, “I’m not leaving you, not ever again, I swear”

-

“About time love birds” Gwen called out with a smile as Ianto and Jack descended using the lift, “Owen was getting worried he’d be outnumbered in here”

“Good morning to you too Gwen” Jack offered Ianto a hand down off the lift which he accepted with a resigned sigh and a roll of his eyes, “Let’s crack this today, I’m sure Beth isn’t too happy being dragged down here with us lot”

“Tosh said she had some ideas about how to, um,” Gwen tried to remember the exact words she had used, “Locate and isolate the alien signals- or triggers in Beth’s subconscious”

Jack clapped his hands together and looked around for his resident genius, “Perfect, looks like she’s in the boardroom with Beth. Gwen why don’t you come with me while Ianto reports to Owen”

Wondering why would Ianto need to report to Owen, Gwen gave the man a searching look but didn’t ask. He looked pretty much the same as yesterday, he was wearing a suit that seemed a little big for him now, his long hair was tied back neatly and he had dark bags under his eyes. Poor pet must be ill she figured as she followed Jack. Maybe she could invite them both round for dinner with her and Rhys, he’d been asking after Ianto last night so it might be nice for them to have a catch up.

With a reassuring smile from Jack, Ianto took himself down to the medbay to have a no doubt awkward conversation with the resident medic, “Owen, do you have a minute?”

“Sure” Owen had been waiting for him since Jack called that morning, he’d been a bit vague after all, “What’s up? You look knackered mate”

Ianto took the seat Owen offered him and started picking at his nails, a bad habit he’d picked up recently that he couldn’t seem to shake, “Yeah, I haven’t been sleeping that well really”

“Nightmares?” Owen guessed, Ianto’s wince the only reply he needed, “Do you want meds? I can write you a prescription”

He knew accepting medicine wasn’t a sign of weakness but really his body was only just getting back to normal, he didn’t think pumping it full of drugs was going to help, “No thank, I’ll keep it in mind though. I was actually… I saw Martha yesterday, Dr Jones, she works for UNIT”

“Right,” Owen frowned when Ianto didn’t continue, “did she offer to prescribe you medication?”

Ianto wasn’t sure how this conversation was supposed to go but gave it his best shot, “No, uh, we mostly just talked. You could say we have some common ground concerning my time away, she actually suggested I see a counsellor and since your technically my doctor I figured, well _Jack figured_ , I should let you know”

“You’re going to see a counsellor? Like a therapist?” Owen double checked, not quite belting what he was hearing. This was the same Ianto that got into a cage with a weevil and walked away without so much as a conversation about it, right?

“Mmhmm” Ianto hummed, looking at his hands intently to avoid eye contact, “Martha- Dr Jones suggested a few who got debriefed on certain classified files that I could talk to if I want. Dr Gellar lives in Cardiff so I thought I’d give it a try, see if it helps”

“Well that’s great,” Owen sure as hell wasn’t trained in that field, he could do wonders on flesh wounds but emotional damage? Not so much, “Normally I’m not UNIT’s biggest fan but if you think it’ll help I say go for it. I’ll do some digging into this guy if you want, check his records to make sure he’s not a creep”

Ianto forced an awkward little smile and got ready to bail, “That would be great Owen, would you like a coffee? I think I’ll go make a pot”

“Sure, if you’re offering” Owen wheeled himself over to his computer set up and got to work, Dr Gellar’s files were almost too easy to access thanks to Tosh re-hacking UNIT’s system six month ago. It was appalling really how long it took them to update their firewalls.

Dr Gellar, fifty-two years old, born and bred in Wales, 5 and a half foot, 189 pounds, got his qualifications via UNIT, hired over twenty years ago and had an outstanding record with his patients. He just hoped this doctor was ready to tackle a World War Two veteran who had just come back from a years long trip fuck knows where doing god knows what, who went through time like Owen went through packets of crisps, “Cheers,” Owen took a sip of his scaling coffee the moment Ianto placed it on his desk, “He’s clean by the way, your doctor friend from UNIT has good taste alright”

“That’s good, I’ll give him a call” Ianto rocked back on the balls on his feet and looked up at the boardroom where the rest of the team plus Beth were sat, “Should we join the others?”

“Yeah yeah,” Owen got up and cradled his coffee, knowing Jack he’d try and steal it the moment he took his eyes off it, “Lead the way”

-

“All I’m saying is we shouldn’t rule out the possibility” Jack was defending himself when Owen and Ianto decided to join them, “Owen, tell them that freezing Beth in one of the units downstairs wouldn’t harm her”

“He’s right,” Owen sat down as Ianto slid into the only other free chair next to Gwen, “She’d be fine”

Ianto weighed in, having personal experience being frozen, “Bit chilly though, takes you a while to get warm once they wake you up. Then again I was left for, what was it, six? Six years without being defrosted, bloody cold-”

“Thank you Ianto,” Jack cut him off even as he enjoyed the rare sass, “I honestly don’t know what else to suggest at the moment, this could be the only shot we have at making sure she’s safe”

“You said it yourself that you don’t know when the invasion is” Gwen pointed out, firmly on the don’t freeze Toshiko’s girlfriend side, “It could be in fifty years, we can’t keep her frozen that long”

Ianto cleared his throat and sat up straighter once he had everyones attention, “Beth isn’t dangerous, she could be if her race send her orders but unless prompted then she’s just going to continue living a normal life, recording data and sending it back, right?” With Jack nodding along, Ianto continued, “So why don’t we just stop her transmitting? Or better yet, send back a signal telling the aliens that Earth is either inhabitable or too great a threat to bother starting a war over?”

“And how do we do that?” Owen asked again, “We don’t know how to send a signal back to wherever it is she came from”

“Anything is traceable” Ianto argued, “There has to be some residual energy, it makes sense that the most valuable information is transmitted immediately, right?”

Gwen surprised everyone but him by finishing off his idea, “So what we need to do is give her some crucial information and follow the trail. That way we can send our own signal”

“Exactly!” Ianto smiled at her and turned to Jack hopefully, “Is that something we can do?”

He had to admit it wasn’t a bad plan, “Well we can certainly try” now all Jack needed to do was pick a piece of information valuable enough to warrant immediate transmission but not so valuable it could wipe out the planet if everything went wrong, “Lets get to work”

-

Seeing Ianto keep his distance from her kind of upset Tosh which she knew was ridiculous since she was the one who told him to stay away but seeing him chat with Gwen or work alongside Owen was rubbing her the wrong way for some reason, “Should I be worried?” Beth nudged her on the arm to get her attention away from Ianto, “Tosh, you’ve been staring at him for like the last ten minutes now. I thought you said Ianto was one of your best friends?”

“He is,” Tosh refused to look over as she heard Ianto stifle a laugh, “I’m just not happy with him at the minute”

“He doesn’t look well,” Beth watched him unashamedly from Over Tosh’s shoulder, “Didn’t you say he went on a business trip? Is that secret code for an alien mission?”

“No, he actually disappeared into thin air while with Gwen in the Himalayas looking for a Yeti on Harold Saxon’s orders.” Toshiko told her, “He only reappeared a few days ago”

“Well he looks like he’s been through the wars,” Beth gave her another nudge when Tosh turned to look again, “Green doesn’t suit you much hon, you can be mad at him all you want on my behalf but we both know this is about something else”

Tosh sighed and rested her head against her girlfriends shoulder, “I guess you’re right” While she was pretty angry about Ianto rightly accusing Beth of being an alien in disguise, she had to admit there was another reason she was holding a grudge. Ianto had left, disappeared into thin air and left them all worried sick for a whole month. Then he just strolls back into their lives without a word about where he had been. Maybe they weren’t as close as she thought they were, “Should I talk to him?”

Beth was already pushing her towards him, “Go, talk, make up and introduce me properly once you’re done. I really want to get to know this substitute family of yours and you’re making it difficult by arguing with them”

Doing as she was told, Tosh took herself over to where Ianto was smiling and chatting with Gwen while they worked, “Ianto? Can I talk to you, please?”

“Sure,” setting down the papers in his hands, Ianto squeezed Gwen on the arm and followed Tosh into the kitchenette, “Is everything alright?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Tosh glanced over her shoulder where Gwen was wiping her eyes, “Is something wrong with Gwen?”

“Oh, no, not at all” Ianto seemed surprised she’d asked but answered anyway, “She was just telling me how glad she was that I was back and got a little emotional, she’s invited Jack and I over for dinner this weekend barring any Rift related emergencies.”

“Well, that sounds like fun” Tosh smiled tentatively, “You know I’m happy you’re back as well right? I missed you while you were gone”

Ianto smiled back, “I’ve missed you too, and for what its worth I’m sorry for how we handled this situation. Everything could have gone much more smoothly”

“Yeah” Tosh frowned and looked down at her feet, “I guess I should apologise for shouting at you yesterday, you didn’t look great and I must have only made things worse for you. Jack told us that you got arrested”

Nodding, Ianto’s smile vanished and was replaced by a cold look of indifference, “Was there anything else?” He didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t even want to think about it, “We should probably get back to trying to save Beth”

“I just want us to be friends again,” Tosh told him, “You know you can talk to me anytime, right?”

“Right” Ianto agreed even as he seriously doubted he’d be crying on her shoulder anytime soon, that was the point of going to Dr Gellar right? So he wouldn’t have to drag his friends down with him when he felt like this, “Come on, Jack must have made some headway by now”


	17. The Urge to Reconnect

Beth was strapped down to the metal chair again but at least this time her head was free of any mind probes or whatever else her girlfriends colleagues had tucked away down in their secret batcave. Instead she just had to deal with the sympathetic looks and various beeping scanners being pointed at her, “What do those do?”

Owen looked over the top of his scanner and answered as best he could without confusing her, “They’re scanning for… alien tech, once we isolate the frequency we can manipulate it and send back our own message”

“Sounds simple enough” Beth smiled shyly, “Will this take long then?” Not that she didn’t like the batcave, only she had a job of her own back at the council offices to be getting on with

“Depends,” Owen returned his focus back to the blanking screen in front of him, “I need to be careful not to kill you”

Jack gave him a scornful look, “Owen”

“Right, sorry” Owen handed the scanner to Tosh so she could do the more fiddly bits, “I only mean that we don’t want to make your head explode-” he caught himself doing it this time and plastered on his fake doctors smile instead, “Not that your head exploding is something that could happen mind you. It was a figure of speech, whats that Gwen? You feel a cold coming on? Lets take you down to the medbay and check you out” he might have come a long way in reconnecting with his more sensitive side since Dianne and Nathan came into his life but he was no saint.

In the end Beth didn’t feel a thing, her girlfriend pointed some sci-fi looking laser at her and told her to brace herself. The next thing she knew she was waking up with a headache feeling a little disoriented but that might be because she was laying on a metal table now instead of being sat in a chair, “What happened? Did it work?”

“Yeah,” Jack coughed, “Sort of”

“Sort of?” Beth sat up and looked around the hub, eyes widening when she saw desks overturned and monitors completely destroyed, “What… I don’t understand. Tosh?”

Jack was quick to reassure her, “She’s fine, everyones fine” he told her gently, “It’s just that we didn’t consider the fact you might have built in firewalls, when we tried to send the signal you activated but it was only temporary” he tried to block her view of the mess that Ianto was currently trying to clean up above, “We’ve received reports that other sleepers had the same reaction but it’s over now. The rest of your kind have abandoned earth as a target and you’ve been disconnected”

“I did all that?” Beth had never been so afraid of herself, seeing a tape of alien words coming from her mouth was different to seeing the devastation she had caused, “What if-”

“It’s better not to ask,” Jack placed a hand on her shoulder, “If you want, we can make you forget any of this even happened. You can go back to what your life was a week ago, no Torchwood, no aliens. Everything can go back to the way it was”

She wouldn’t lie and say she didn’t consider it for a moment, the thought of forgetting and returning back to the way things were was enticing but she knew she couldn’t, “But Toshiko would still work here, I would never know if she was coming home at the end of the day” she shook her head, “No, I need to know”

“Okay,” Jack would allow it, god knows how much easier things with Ianto were once he knew about Torchwood, the only difference is that Beth would never join the team, “but you can’t tell anyone. This all has to stay a secret”

“Well duh,” Beth smiled awkwardly as Tosh came walking down the steps, “Hey” she had no idea how her girlfriend was going to react, sure she faced aliens all day every day but dealing with a threat and dating one must be very different

“Hey, how are you feeling? Owen said he already checked you over while you were asleep but-”

Beth cut her off, “I’m good Toshiko, really good.”

Jack knew when he wasn’t wanted, “I’ll leave you two alone” he had his own lover to check up on after all, Beth had almost caught him with those blades earlier. Ianto was picking up an assortment of pens and other stationary that had been swept off Gwen’s desk in the ruckus when Jack sidled up next to him offering to help. In return he’d received a lovely smile and a soft spoken ‘thank you’ which was more than worth it, “So,” Jack wasn’t sure how to bring up the subject he wanted to discuss but he tried his best not to be too obvious about it, “the Rift should be quiet tonight, I was thinking we could go out to eat, maybe rent a movie to watch back home after…”

“That sounds like good fun,” Ianto nodded as he got to his feet, depositing Gwen’s belongings back on her desk neatly, “but I really should get my hair cut first” he hated having long hair and would have taken kitchen scissors to it by himself already except he didn’t want to look even more of a twat

“I could cut it for you” Jack suggested immediately and Ianto’s heart sunk, “We could do it now if you like, Gwen’s gone to get lunch and Owen should be going down to check on Beth in a minute” Not wanting to offend him, Ianto didn’t know what to say and instead of politely declining he found himself nodding along as Jack dragged him into his office, “Wait here while I grab the scissors”

Without much of a choice, Ianto sat himself down and wondered what the hell he’d just signed up for. As far as he knew Jack couldn’t cut hair but then again the worst he could do was make him look stupid which in all fairness he already did. He could always go for a touch up later if it was horrible, “Jack, have you don’t this before?” He asked once his partner returned with a tea towel, a pair of scissors and a somewhat manic grin

“Don’t trust me?” Jack teased, cutting the air in front of him playfully, “It’ll be fine, just close your eyes and sit still”

“Now where have I heard that before?” Ianto smirked as he did as he was told

Jack hadn’t realised how much he’d missed their teasing, “Cheeky”

“You love it”

“Yeah,” Jack sighed as he got to work cutting away at Ianto’s, for lack of a better word, mane of hair, “I do. You know, I am surprised you’re letting me do this” he commented with a false sense of nonchalance, “You’ve been tense around me lately, I was beginning to think I’d done something wrong”

“What do you mean?” Ianto felt his stomach twisting itself into knots already, had he really been so obvious?

“Well,” Jack tilted his head to one side so he could get a better angle to work with, “apart from when we’re going to sleep you keep your distance and we haven’t exactly _reconnected_ since you came back”

Clearing his throat, Ianto felt a familiar heat scorch his cheeks, no doubt Jack was getting a brilliant view of his flushed neck as well, “I didn’t- that is to say that we- I can assure you that-”

Stopping what he was doing for a moment, Jack placed both his hands on Ianto’s shoulders and stared at the back of his beautiful head, “That wasn’t me trying to push you into anything Ianto, I never want you to force yourself into anything for my sake, okay? I can wait as long as you need” letting go of his shoulders, Jack returned to cutting his hair, “Anyway, I’m more than happy just to have you back in the first place”

Ianto didn’t say anything for quite some time after that, instead he sat there and listened to the muffled sound of Owen and Tosh talking to Beth down in the medbay, the snip of the scissors Jack was using on his hair and focused on his breathing as he collected his thoughts, “I’ve got some new scars” the words sprang from his mouth before he could overthink them, “I don’t know if you’ve seen them since I came home but they’re there”

Not stopping what he was doing, Jack tried not to make a big deal out of it, “I saw the one on your side, looked like another bullet wound but I didn’t want to bring it up”

“Yeah, and another on my leg” Ianto admitted, patting his poor knee, “It’s a miracle I’m alive at this point to be honest”

“Don’t say that” Jack scolded him, “I mean it, I don’t want to hear you talking like that”

“I got shot in the leg during the war, attacked by a weevil on the street after, another weevil got this claws into me at that ridiculous fight club.” He rattled them off, “I crashed the SUV into a ginormous demon from beneath the rift, I was frozen for almost a century and got shot twice more in my side and my leg.” Ianto listed everything off feeling a little shocked, he’d never sat down and thought about it but damn, that was a lot, “You can’t deny how unlikely that all is, and thats not even counting my little trips via the rift that should have-”

“I don’t care” Jack insisted as his frown deepened, “Who shot you?”

“I honestly don’t know” Ianto went to shrug before realising just how close Jack’s scissors where to his ear, “Just some soldier”

It was Jack’s turn to take some time to think as he tried to get Ianto’s hair even, “You know I don’t care about your scars right? If that’s what’s worrying you”

“I know, and I’m not worried per say” Ianto hedged, “I just haven’t,” he stalled, clearing his throat, “you know, I haven’t, uh, _felt it_ ”

“You haven’t felt it” Jack repeated to himself, “Felt what?”

“The, uh, you know, the…” Ianto told himself to man up and spit it out already, “the _urge to reconnect_ yet”

“Oh,” Jack’s frown lifted a bit, now he understood a bit better maybe he could help. Perhaps Ianto wanted to be wined and dined a bit more, romance could be the key to rekindling their relationship, “I understand, thank you for telling me” he knew Ianto wasn’t a fan of flowers but maybe some roses wouldn’t go unappreciated, “We don’t have to rush into anything, like I said, I’m just glad to have you back” whipping the tea towel off of his shoulders, Jack grinned at his work, “Tada!”

“Uh Jack, I can’t see it” Ianto pointed out as he looked down at the mess on the office floor, looks like he had some cleaning to do, “It feels better though”

Grabbing the mirror from his desk, Jack handed it over, “Here” he looked good, then again Ianto always looked perfect to him anyway, “What do you think?”

It… wasn’t horrible.

Not his usual style, still a little long at the sides and floppy at the top for his taste but then again Jack did always like it at this length so it was no surprise he left it long enough for the ends to curl slightly, “It’s nice, thank you” at least he wouldn’t have to tie it back anymore, “So, where were you thinking about going for dinner? I think Gwen mentioned a new place by the monument”


	18. Dr David Gellar

Jack awoke to an empty bed for the fourth time that week and sighed to himself. Fair enough if it had been the morning, Ianto could just be in the shower or getting dressed for the day ahead, but like the previous three times it was the middle of the night, the mattress was cold next to him and Ianto was nowhere in sight.

Rolling out of bed quietly, Jack pulled his unflattering flannel dressing gown on and shuffled out of the bedroom. He would have thrown the tattered rag away a long time ago and replaced it with something sexy or silky but he couldn’t bring himself to part with the tartan monstrosity as Ianto had bought him it when he’d complained about the cold. It might be ugly and fraying at the edges but it was quite possibly the comfiest thing Jack had ever worn.

He found Ianto sat at the kitchen table with red eyes and a bowl of cornflakes, the spoon frozen halfway to his mouth as he stared at Jack guiltily. He looked like a kid who’d been found with his hand inside the cookie jar, waiting for Jack to admonish him.

But he didn’t.

Instead Jack gave him a tired smile and wordlessly filled a bowl of his own with Coco Pops, plopping himself down next to him at the table. He lifted a spoonful of cereal to his mouth with one hand and took Ianto’s free one in the other. They didn’t say a word as they sat there, both silently eating cereal, the only occasional sound being when a spoon would scrape the edge of a bowl.

By the time Ianto had finished his cereal his head was a little clearer but he still had no idea what he was doing, he had awoken about an hour ago from a horrible nightmare and had needed to escape and find some normalcy. He should have known that Jack was both all along, “I-” his voice was thick from sleep even as he looked exhausted, “Jack…”

“Shh,” Jack got up and pulled him into an embrace, holding him gently as if scared he would break, “I’ve got you, I’m right here” after a while he managed to convince Ianto to return to bed and sleep for a few more hours, wrapping him up securely in his arms

“I can’t sleep,” Ianto whispered into the darkness as he placed his head against Jacks chest, listening to his heartbeat, “Nightmares”

“I’ll stay awake,” Jack promised, running a hand through Ianto’s hair comfortingly, “I’ll wake you up if you start having one”

Yawning, Ianto didn’t even realise he was snuggling in, “But then you’ll be tired”

Jack pressed his lips to the crown of Ianto’s head as his breathing deepened. Only whispering once he was sure he was asleep, “You’re more than worth it”

-

Jack had been surprised when Ianto had expressed interest in seeing a counsellor, surprised but accepting. If that’s what his lover needed to work through whatever it was that had happened during his time away then Jack would support him wholeheartedly in that decision. He knew Ianto was in pain, maybe not physical but the nightmares weren’t going away and he just wanted to help however he could. In fact, it might be possible that he was being _too_ supportive, “Jack, you don’t have to wait outside the entire time. I could have come by myself”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be waiting right here and once you’re finished I can take you back to the hub, or we can go home, whatever you feel is best” Jack had asked if he would be allowed to sit in but Ianto had told him it was more a one-on-one thing, which was fine, completely fine, he was fine with Ianto pouring his heart and soul out to this complete stranger instead of talking to him about it, “Are you sure you don’t want me to-”

Ianto resisted the urge to roll his eyes and instead silenced his partner by placing a hand on his arm, “Jack, I can make my own way back to the hub. You should probably get back sooner rather than later, it’s meant to be a busy day” If he was being honest, Ianto had wanted to reschedule his first appointment with the counsellor out of nerves and tried using the rift as an excuse but Jack had packed him into the SUV and all but dragged him into the waiting room. 

Now he was trying to wheedle his way into the session as well and Ianto just wanted to call the whole thing off. He was fine, sure he woke up in a cold sweat every night and could no longer stand being in water for longer than ten seconds without wanting to cry like an utter baby but he’d get over it. 

He was made of sterner stuff.

“Mr Jones?” The reception lady called his name with a polite smile, “Dr Gellar is waiting for you in his office”

“Right, that’s us- you I mean” Jack corrected himself, leaning in to give Ianto’s cheek a quick kiss, “I’ll be right here waiting when you’re done. I’m so proud of you”

Feeling like he had lead in his shoes and legs made out of jelly, Ianto forced his chin up as he made his way towards the office he’d be trapped in for the next hour of his life. If he was going to do this he hoped to leave with at least some of his dignity intact, “Hello, Dr Gellar?” The man in the office was not what Ianto was expecting, he’d been picturing a dumpy man who wore woollen cardigans and huge wire frame glasses, not… well. 

The man was tall, _so tall_ and he had a messy mop of thick black hair. He was well built with chiselled features and he looked like he would be far more at home among rugby players than his current colleagues, “You must be Mr Jones, may I call you Ianto?” Dr Gellar rose to shake his hand and Ianto felt mortified when his stomach gave a little flutter at the deep familiar welsh accent, nope this wasn’t happening, nopety nope nope, “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” Ianto cleared his throat and told himself to get a grip, “sorry, I’m fine. It’s a pleasure to see you- _meet you_ Dr Gellar” if god was listening then please strike him dead, it would be less painful. Dr Gellar chuckled and gestured to the seats available, two high back armchairs and a small sofa. Why did Ianto feel like he was already being tested? Was his choice of seat significant in some way? Was he already being sorted into a nice little box to be labelled with problems based on where he sat?

It took an almost embarrassing amount of time to sit in the left chair and even then he was second guessing himself.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too Ianto and please feel free to call me David,” he sat on the armchair Ianto had left and pulled out a little book and pen, “With your permission I took a look at your file and I’ve got to say your case is certainly a unique one”

Latching onto anything he could, Ianto nodded in agreement, “Yes, I can’t imagine you meet many people born in the 20’s”

David laughed again but now Ianto knew it was coming it didn’t affect him nearly as much, he was in a relationship but that didn’t mean he was blind, “I actually meant that your case was unique because of how classified some of the information is. I had to request several files to be released because my clearance wasn’t high enough. But sure, the 20’s thing too I guess.”

“Oh,” that made sense, “I suppose a lot of my file would be classified information”

“Yes, you’ve led quite the life” David nodded towards the door, “I see you brought someone with you today for our first session. I hope you aren’t nervous, I’m not about to ask you to spill your deepest, darkest secrets. Today is just about getting to know each other and figuring out what you hope to get out of these therapy sessions.”

“Counselling” Ianto corrected him, there was a distinct difference between the two in his mind. He could cope with calling it counselling, he refused to call it therapy, “And I’m sure you recognise Captain Harkness, you are UNIT after all”

Making a small note, David looked up from his book, “Ah yes, I am familiar with the Captain. Are the two of you close?”

“You could say that” Ianto shifted in his seat, unsure what to tell the man about their relationship, if it was even his business, “He is a great man”

David caught onto the way Ianto was eyeing his notebook like a hawk and set it down gently on the arm of his chair, “Can I ask you a question Ianto?” When Ianto raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly, David asked, “What made you want to come here and talk to me in the first place?”

“I was told talking to someone about things that have happened could help me,” Ianto knew the whole point of coming here was to talk about everything that was still making him feel scared and angry but knowing you needed to let it out and actually talking were two different things, “I was arrested last week and once I was bailed out I wasn’t in a good place. I called Martha- Dr Jones and she suggested that I spoke to someone so here I am”

“Why were you arrested?” David asked, sitting back with a curious expression

Ianto resisted the urge to roll his eyes, as if Dr Gellar hadn’t read the file already, “Because I got into a fight trying to stand up for two young lads who were getting hassled”

“Do you do that often?” David asked, “Insert yourself into dangerous situations to defend people?”

Did he? He hadn’t put that much thought into it before, “Maybe? Only if someone needs my help. The two young lads were just kids, I couldn’t just ignore it, not if I could help”

“And that’s not a bad thing,” David assured him, “But have you ever thought about how those actions could negatively effect those around you? I’m sure your friends were very concerned when they heard what had happened”

“I- well-” Ianto hated this feeling, like he had to defend himself for doing nothing wrong, “I’m sorry but what does this have to do with fixing me?”

David nodded and Ianto got the feeling he’d walked into a trap, “You’re not broken Ianto, you don’t need fixing. I’m not sure how much you know about mental health but it’s important for you to understand that you don’t need to be fixed. Mental health is just as valid as your physical health, if you got a nasty cut on your arm you’d use medicine to heal it. That is what these sessions are about” David told him pointedly, “Healing, not fixing something that’s broken”

“So you’re going to bandage up my brain and then I’m good to go then, is that it?” Ianto asked sarcastically, this really had been a waste of time

David picked his little book back up and Ianto wanted to snatch it away to see what he was writing, “You can leave any time you want Ianto, I’m not keeping you here” when Ianto didn’t move, David made another note, “I’m here because I want to help you, you’re here because you want help. Now, why don’t you tell me a little bit more about these kids that were getting harassed?”

-

Jack had been watching the clock like a hawk for the last hour, only taking the odd ten second break to check his phone before snapping his attention right back. He wondered how it was going, what they were talking about. Had Ianto cried? Was he crying right now? What was that bastard doing to him in that office to make him cry?

It wasn’t the slowest hour of Jack’s life but it might be in the top ten, sandwiched between waiting on hold to talk to UNIT and being stuck in traffic heading down to London after Canary Wharf hoping against all hope that The Doc was still there. Eventually Ianto came out of the office looking fine, no evidence of tears or bodily harm, but he didn’t look happy either, “Ianto, hey, how’d it go?”

Taking a moment to overcome the ambush, Ianto gave him a reassuring smile, “Fine, I told you I’d be okay by myself”

“Never doubted it,” Jack held the door open for him on the way out and brushed their hands together as they walked down the street towards the parked SUV, “What did you two talk about?”

Reaching out to bravely clasp Jack’s hand as they walked together, Ianto gave him an apologetic look, “Can we not talk about it right now? I just want to enjoy my time with you”

Momentarily sidetracked by the hand holding, Jack dropped the subject, “This is new,” a smirk spread across his lips as he squeezed Ianto’s hand, public displays of affection were pretty much unheard of between the two of them after all, “You’re adorable, you want to hold my hand”

“Oh shut up” Ianto blushed but he didn’t move to snatch his hand away, “See if I bother doing it again”

“No, I like it” Jack swung their joint hands jovially between them with a grin, “It’s nice” 

Maybe this counselling really was a good idea.


	19. The 20th of July

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a short one today, hope you like it!

It was that time of year again, Friday the 20th of July. Another year gone, another day in the life of Tommy Brockless. The day started for the Torchwood team in various different ways, Owen awoke to the sound of Nathans cries, mumbling to Dianne that he’d take the next feed to allow her some more time to sleep. Gwen woke up to tea and toast loving provided by her boyfriend as the sun peaked through their bedroom curtains. Toshiko watched with a smile on her face as her girlfriend shuffled further under the covers, not yet ready to face the day and Jack? He woke up alone in bed with a sigh before reluctantly getting up to hunt for his lover.

“Ianto? I’ve told you a thousand times, if you have a nightmare I want you to wake me up” he’d found his lover sat in front of the tortoise tank, feeding them with a shifty look about him

“It wasn’t a nightmare” Ianto replaced the water bowl in the tank and was sure to close the hatch before rising to give Jack his morning kiss, “You just slept through the alarm”

“Oh” well that was a change, “Good, I’m glad” Ianto had been back to the therapist- sorry counsellor, twice more since his first appointment and even if it still bugged Jack that Ianto would rather talk to a stranger about his problems, he couldn’t deny the positive effect it was having on his lover. Ianto was calmer, more settled and generally happier. Well, excluding the half an hour before he had to go to his appointment and a couple of hours after the fact, he could be a real moody sod then, “What’s with the face?”

“It’s Brockless day” Ianto reminded him, ever since his little stint in the drawer himself his admiration and respect towards Tommy had skyrocketed. He knew first hand how terrifying it was to be frozen after all and Tommy hardly let it show, “Thinking about it is bringing back memories I guess”

“You can always take the day,” Jack offered, “I can always just call you in if things get too crazy”

Shaking his head, Ianto pressed another chaste kiss to his lips, “Thank you but I’ll be fine. I can’t just keep hiding form things that make me uncomfortable but I promise I’ll let you know if it becomes too much”

“That’s all I ask” Jack checked his watch and swore under his breath, “I’ve got to get ready, I don’t suppose I can tempt you to join me in the shower this morning?”

Ianto laughed, pushing his insecurities and nerves aside as he deflected instead, “Then we would really be late, probably safer you wash your own back today”

“A man can hope” Jack winked, not letting his disappointment show. He knew Ianto wasn’t feeling up to anything too physical at the moment, probably a result of his trip, but that didn’t mean Jack’s urges had suddenly disappeared as well.

But he could be patient, he’d give Ianto all the time in the world

-

As nobody had taken the time to explain to Gwen why the 20th was so important, she had arrived at the hub blissfully unaware that they were about to defrost a World War One soldier until Jack handed her a photograph of the man, “Who’s this then?”

Having realised Gwen had no idea what was about to happen that morning, Jack caught her up to speed, “Thomas Reginald Brockless.”

“Tommy.” Ianto handed her a coffee and stuck around to make sure Jack explained it right

Tosh and Owen were already waiting down in the medbay for them so Jack tried to hurry it up, “24 years old-”

“-Sort of.” It would go a lot faster if Ianto stopped interrupting him

“Well, he’s either 24 or he’s not.” Gwen frowned, never work with a couple, it was a little creepy how they manage dot finish each other’s sentences like that

“Depends how you work it out.” Ianto shrugged

What did that mean? Probably something to do with time travel knowing these two, Gwen thought to herself, “All right, when was he born?”

“1894” Jack nodded towards the medical bay and leant over the railings, “Owen, you ready?”

“Yeah, nearly.” Owen pulled out the drawer he’d brought up front he morgue, “Have you got the code to unlock the chamber Tosh?”

“He’s in there?” Gwen asked with wide eyes, a part of her knew that Ianto had been trapped in one of these to get back from when Bilis trapped him in the 40’s with Owen and Tosh but to see the cramped little drawer was something else

“He’s been here for ninety years, longer than any of us.” Jack took a moment to glance at Ianto, the mental math of figuring out how old he was long out of the window as he shrugged, “Any of you”

“Torchwood have used alien cryogenics since Victorian times.” Toshiko explained, “They froze Tommy in 1918.”

“So he’s 24 or 114 years old.” Jack tried to lighten the mood, “I know which one I’d choose.”

Owen thanked Tosh as she handed him the code for the lock, “We have to wake him up every twelve months or so. Well, defrost him, one day only, then back in the freezer.”

“Why?” That’s the part Gwen had never understood, Ianto had told them it got harder every year to go back in the drawer, surely it was more humane to just let the man say frozen until he was needed?

“Check he still works.” Ianto could feel the cold nipping at his toes and told himself it was all in his head, he was awake, he never had to go back in the drawer again, he was fine, “Make sure he’s still sane, being frozen like that for so long messes with your head a little”

“And one day, we’re gonna need him.” Jack put a hand on the small of Ianto’s back to try and comfort him, smiling to himself when his lover leaned into the touch

“Right, everybody ready?” Owen asked as he prepped the needle, injecting Tommy when Jack gave him the go ahead as Tosh checked for his pulse, “Come on, Tommy.” Nothing, “Tosh, the defibrillator”

“Charging two hundred,” Tosh handed the machine over

“Clear!” Owen tried but it wasn’t working, “The thing’s shorting. Charging three sixty. Clear!” Gwen had to look away as Tommy arched up off the table with a loud gasp, falling around in a panic. Ianto wasn’t doing much better, but he forced himself to watch as Owen tried to calm the man down, “Quick, quick. It’s all right.”

“Get off me.” Tommy struggled against Owen as he tried to restrain him, “Leave me alone.”

Tosh pushed her way into his line of sight to get his attention as he swung at Owen and knocked him down, “Tommy!” She slapped him around the face to snap him out of it, “Tommy! Tommy, listen to me. Tommy Brockless. It’s me, Toshiko.”

“Toshiko” Tommy repeated as he stopped flailing about

Helping Owen up, Tosh smiled at the man kindly, “Remember?”

Tommy nodded and collapsed back onto the table, regulating his breathing as Owen rubbed his aching jaw, “Gets harder every year.”

“Good left hook, though.” Jack commented, watching the soldier for any signs of further violence as Tosh crept closer

“Do you know where you are?” She asked

Tommy nodded and sat up again, “Torchwood.” He opened his eyes and looked around the room, “Is it time again? Blimey. I could murder a cup of tea.”


	20. Chuckle Brothers

It took Tommy a while before he realised what was wrong with the picture in front of him, “Hang on, you’re meant to be dead” he pointed a slightly shaking finger at Ianto with a frown, “Or am I going barmy? I remember you from 1940…” he frowned, the dates gettting muddle, “...something, you were gone within a year” he remembered the Captain had never been the same since

“Ah,” Ianto had been expecting this and opted for humour, “Time travel am I right? It’s enough to do your nut in”

“Not helpful” Jack tossed over his shoulder as he made his descent down the med bay stairs, “Ianto has been frozen for some time as well”

“And I’ve hitched a lift through the rift a couple of times” Ianto added helpfully, shrugging his shoulders when Jack gave him an unimpressed look, “What? It’s true”

Tommy made a confused sound that drew everyones attention back towards him, “Why wasn’t I told you were alive? If you’ve been frozen too” it would have been nice to know he wasn’t frozen alone all these years

“It was classified” Jack explained, “Even I didn’t know he was alive, he’d only be brought out when I wasn’t here to protect the integrity of the timeline”

“I was a top secret bag of frozen peas” Ianto joked, treating these memories with a hint of humour made them less daunting, “Tea then?”

-

“Don’t expect the best china.” Ianto smiled at Tommy as he set down a tray ladened with food

Digging in, Tommy barely remembered his table manners, swallowing his mouthful before talking, “I’m starving.” At this point he’d eat anything that was put in front of him, which boded well since cuisine seemed to change drastically from year to year.

“Visitors only.” Ianto teased as he sat down across from him, tilting his head to one side to look at Jack who was hovering over his shoulder

“Here,” Tommy passed him a plate, “tuck in. There’s enough here to feed an army.” He smiled politely as Toshiko came through with a pot of coffee, “That’s a nice dress Toshiko”

Thinking about how her girlfriend had said something similar to her that morning, Tosh blushed a little, “Thank you Tommy”

“Got your slacks on underneath.” He asked, “Is it that cold outside?”

“It’s the fashion this year.” Ianto told him when Tosh just shrugged and looked away, he’d had a lot to catch up on as well

Tommy’s eyes glazed over slightly, “1968 they were in miniskirts. Thought all my Christmases had come at once. Shame they haven’t made a comeback.”

“I dunno,” Ianto scrunched his nose up at the memory, “Don’t get me wrong, the 80’s were alright. I can appreciate a nice pair of jeans but the skirts didn’t do it for me”

Pulling an uncomfortable looking Toshiko away from the table as Ianto and Tommy got into a very in depth discussing about 60’s and 70’s fashion, Gwen whispered, “I still don’t get it.” She asked quietly, “Why is he here?” she didn't like being kept out of the loop. After all this time, after everything they’d been through as a team, it would be nice to be clued into things.

“Like Jack said, one day we’re gonna need him” Tosh told her sadly as she looked over at the table were Ianto was laughing with the soldier, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. This could only end badly.

She wasn’t sure what to tell him, before whenever Tommy had been brought out for the day she had taken him out. They… she had harboured some feelings towards him in the past but she was in a relationship now, with a woman. Tosh wasn’t sure how to break that to Tommy but looking at how he was chatting happily with Ianto, she figured maybe she didn’t have to.

-

“You want Ianto to take Tommy out today?” Jack wasn’t sure about the idea, Tosh usually kept an eye on the soldier while he was out of the box and they hadn’t had any problems before now, “Whats the matter? I thought the two of you got on great”

“That’s the problem Jack” Tosh shifted from foot to foot awkwardly, “I’m with Beth now, I’m not sure he needs to hear that and I don’t want to lie to him. Besides look,” she pointed out the windows of Jacks office where Tommy and Ianto were once again laughing at something down in the med bay as Owen did the routine checks, “Ianto looks really happy to be in his company, it might be good for him to spend some time with someone with... a shared experience”

Crossing his arms defensively, Jack tried to keep the jealously out of his tone, “ _I_ have shared experience with him” he wasn’t sure if he succeeded

“It’s one day” Tosh pleaded, “It would get Ianto out of the hub, but if you’re dead set against it then can you at least send Gwen or Owen?”

Knowing that Tosh wouldn’t be asking if she wasn’t really uncomfortable with this, Jack put his own discomfort with the idea of Ianto spending the whole day apart from him aside, “Fine, okay.” He held his hands up, “But if Ianto doesn’t want to do it then don’t blame me” but before he could go down to suggest the idea he got a ping on his computer alerting him to a rift disturbance.

Looks like today just might be the day.

Down in the med bay, the two chuckle brothers were driving Owen up the wall, “We get woken up every day and get needles suck into us.” Tommy glanced at Ianto, “It’s not fair.”

“Well I’m out of the drawer for good now actually, so Owen only gets stabby with me on occasion”. Ianto leant against the tiled wall, “While we wait-”

“Tommy Reginald Brockless, born 1894 February the 7th in Blackley, Manchester.” Tommy rattled off, knowing the question was coming, “Private officer in 10th West Yorkshire regiment.”

Nodding, Ianto gestured for him to continue, “Very good”

“Only son of Constance May Bassett, died 1900, and Thomas Campbell Brockless, died June 1931, aged 57. Heart attack.” Tommy asked sadly, “That’s right, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Ianto gave his shoulder a pat, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s all right. I just haven’t had that much time to get used to it.” Tommy looked up as Gwen came bustling down the steps with some of Owen’s equipment that he’d left int he SUV

“Here you are,” Gwen lugged the heavy bag down the stars and smiled at the two men out of time

“Right,” Owen took his doctors bag from Gwen with a quiet thank you, his manners dredged up after years of disuse all thanks to Dianne, “I need to have a look at this leg”


	21. Pool, Pub and Patience

Jack was scanning the readings darting across his computer screen with Tosh when Gwen knocked on the office door, “Tommy’s just finishing up his med check with Owen and Ianto now- wait, what’s wrong?”

He looked up at her with a grim expression on his face, “It’s the rift. Saint Teilo’s Hospital, 1918.” He told her, “There was a time shift.”

When Gwen didn’t immediately look concerned, Tosh further explained, “A fracture in the Rift means that two slices of time were erupting into each other.”

Catching on, Gwen started to look worried, “A slice of 1918, and-”

“A slice of the future.” Jack finished for her, already redirecting his attention back to the computer, “But we don’t know exactly what slice. It could be tomorrow, it could be in a hundred years time.”

“So why are you worrying abut it now, more than before I mean?” Gwen asked, “What happened?”

“I got an alert, the rift is active at the hospital, some time soon chunks of 1918 will start to appear. A few at first, then more and more.” Jack shook his head, “When the time shift is complete, it’ll start a chain reaction. Unless we stop it, time shifts’ll start happening all over the country, then all over the world.”

“And how does Tommy fit in?”

“He helps to stop it somehow.” Jack gestured to the small tin box on his desk, “Torchwood 1918 left us sealed orders.”

“Eyes only documents.” Gwen read the label, “FAO Torchwood commander overseeing case 1918/T B. Tommy Brockless?” With Jack’s permission she tired to open it unsuccessfully, “Okay, it’s stuck.”

“No,” Toshiko took the box from her, “it’s locked.”

“And we don’t have the key?” Gwen asked hopefully though she had the feeling it wouldn’t be so simple, nothing ever was around here.

“It’s a temporal lock tied in with the rift frequencies at the hospital.” Tosh told her

Jack nodded along before continuing, “When the Rift nears completion, the box will open and we’ll find out exactly what Tommy does.”

“But why would they keep us in the dark, Jack?” Gwen couldn't make much sense of that

“I guess we’ll find that out, too.” Jack looked up when he heard Ianto’s gorgeous laugh echoing downstairs and tried not to frown, when’s the last time he got Ianto to laugh like that? No, focus, he told himself as he looked down through the windows to see Tommy dressed in civilian clothing, looking far too handsome for Jack’s piece of mind, “Come on. No point in keeping him cooped up inside much longer” as much as he didn’t like the idea of Ianto gallivanting off with a younger, handsome man around Cardiff, Jack wasn’t so selfish as to deny Tommy his day of living.

Of course it was a bonus that he was pretty sure Tommy wasn’t interested in men anyway.

-

“Ta dah!” Tommy gave Ianto and Owen an over-exaggerated spin in the clothes that had been given to him, smiling when Ianto burst out laughing, it felt good for someone to treat him like a normal bloke and not a science experiment for once, “Seriously, what do you think?”

Owen rolled his eyes and injected as much sarcasm into his tone as possible, “You look like a film star.”

“Who,” Tommy grinned cheekily, “Charlie Chaplin?”

Stifling a laugh, Ianto tried to pull on a serious expression when the rest of the team made their way over, he wasn’t expecting Jack to take him off to one side and ask him to be Tommys guide for the day while Tosh did the same for the other man but he wasn’t complaining either, “If that’s what you think is best sir”

“So,” Jack cleared his throat as he hovered slightly, not ready to go yet as Tosh was helping Tommy with his coat, “Any ideas where you’re taking him?”

“I dunno,” Ianto smiled, clearly excited about playing tour guide for the day, “Drink, film, maybe a pizza. I want to show him everything you showed me”

“Well,” Jack scoffed, digging his hands into his trouser pockets, “Hopefully not _everything_ ” he’d been going for joking but missed by a mile, “I mean- well, only, you know”

A little shocked at the insinuation, Ianto frowned at him, “I hope you’re not suggesting what I infer you’re suggesting.” Did Jack not trust him? Ianto felt a slap would have been less painful than that realisation, “I would never”

“I know,” Jack told him quickly, “of course I know that. Sorry”

Ianto wasn’t sure what to think now, “Do you have a problem with me taking him out?” If he did then why did he even suggest it in the first place?

“No,” Jack shook his head half heartedly, “It’s just… ever since you came back I feel like there been a bit of a disconnect and-”

“Have fun.” Tosh and Gwen came over with Tommy, Owen long gone by this point, “And be careful, sorry were we interrupting something?”

Jack waved his hand and took a step back, “No, we were just discussing the plans for the day. You have your mobile if you need us?”

“Yes,” Ianto checked his pocket, “And the same goes for you, call if you need me”

He wouldn’t, “Sure, have a lovely time”

-

Ianto decided to start with a walk round the bay, he knew from experience that when he got out of the drawer all he wanted to do was stretch his legs, after that he might take Tommy to get some more food or maybe he could take him to the pub. Play some pool, have a pint, nothing too intense, “Have you seen this?” Ianto asked as he stopped by the Scott Antarctic Memorial statue, “Captain Scott sailed from here, when he went off to the Antarctic.”

“1910.” Tommy nodded with a look of recognition, “I was sixteen. Papers were full of it. Took him two years to get there and then he snuffed it.”

“I’ll tell you what, it’s not often I find a man older than me in this time period, you make me feel like a spring chicken” Ianto teased the man, tilting his head to one side, “Fancy a pint?”

“You read my mind”

-

In the hub Gwen was looking at a picture of Gerald and Harriet, a Torchwood team of the past and tried to draw Tosh into a conversation to escape the stuffy atmosphere that had filled the hub after Ianto had left with Tommy, “He’s a bit of all right, don’t you think?” She asked, pointing to Gerald

“He’s the boss.” Tosh told her, looking over from her work

Gwen smiled, teasing her, “Nothing changes.”

Laughing slightly, Tosh leaned in for a closer look, “She’s all right, too. Harriet Derbyshire.”

“Wonder what happened to her.” Gwen wasn’t expecting an answer but of course Tosh knew all the personnel files by heart, Gwen knew she was a genius but it still impressed her beyond belief every single time

“She died the year after that was taken.” Tosh sighed, “Twenty six years old.”

“So young.” Gwen said sadly

Tosh nodded, “They all were. Nothing changes.” Looking up when Gwen grabbed her coat, Tosh asked, “Where are you going?”

“St Teilo’s Hospital.” Gwen checked she had her phone and her gun, just in case, and gave Tosh a smile, “And bloody cheer up, will you?” She couldn’t stand to see Tosh look so dejected, they’d become a lot closer over the last couple of months and she hated to see any of her friends upset.

-

Ianto smiled across the pool table at Tommy, “Good shot” he knew the pub had been a good idea, Tommy seemed to be enjoying himself and Ianto had to admit it was nice to relax with someone who wasn’t treating him like he was made of glass for once 

“You’re still winning.” Tommy grumbled good-naturedly

Ianto shrugged as he took his turn, “It’s all just maths, really. Angles, velocity. You should see Tosh play, she’s on a whole different level”

“Give women a vote, equal rights, look what happens, eh?” Tommy joked before broaching the subject he’d been wanting to talk about, “So, er, you been here long?”

Now how to answer that one, “Not long no, I just got back.” Ianto tried to do the maths in his head, “Landed here just before Christmas, got sent to 1941 by accident and ended up freezing myself just like you to get back but I’ve been away recently, haven’t been here all that long”

“Oh yeah? Where’d you go then” Tommy asked as he took his shot

Taking a long drink of his pint, Ianto winced, “The end of the world, at least it felt like it”

“Ha, been there” Tommy raised his own glass and clinked it against Ianto’s, “Cheers”


	22. Ghosts

Gwen walked along the empty wards, disturbing pigeons and litter as she span around, “Hello?” She heard laughter in the distance and saw, much to her shock, a one legged man in pyjamas leaning heavily on a pair of crutches who wasn’t there a moment ago, “I said hello.” The man started moving towards her rapidly and it was all Gwen could do to back away, “Can you hear me?” She asked, “Look, can you hear me? If you just-” she backed up against the wall and screwed her eyes shut in fear, but when she opened them he had vanished

“Hello?” Gwen ran down the ward, searching for the man but all she found were faulty lights and three construction workers in high vis and hard hats

“Are you all right, love?” One of them tipped his hat back, “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.” 

She gathered all the information she could before calling Jack in, meeting him by the front doors when he pulled up in the SUV, “Gwen?” He jumped out of the car with a worried expression, “Did you find something?”

“They’re knocking down the hospital,” She told him, “That’s what the construction lot told me. Could that have triggered the time shift?”

“Could have.” Jack admitted, “Maybe all the psychic trauma and Rift energy charged it up like a battery. 1918, this place was full of wounded soldiers. They had four years of it. Passchendaele, the Somme, a million British soldiers killed during the Great War. It was like walking into hell.” Not his fondest of memories, “Believe me. I was there. Owen?” He keyed onto coms, “You got anything?”

Back in the hub, Owen was sat at one of the computers mindlessly, “All quiet here. Just that little spike from earlier.” He sighed, “Look, this is more Tosh’s thing than mine but she’s out getting coffee”

“Catch her up once she gets back,” Jack told him, “Just keep watching” looking up at the ancient building, Jack’s mind drifted to Ianto, wondering what he was doing, whether he was safe. He’d just have to trust him.

When had that gotten so hard?

The workmen were knocking through the interior walls when Jack and Gwen went back inside, deciding to split up to investigate Jack crept down a poorly lit corridor and froze when he heard a man’s voice singing, _“Tick tock, wind up the clock”_ he stayed stock still as he saw an Edwardian nurse walk by oblivious to him, pushing the singing man along in a wheelchair, _“I like them all.”_

The nurse smiled, “I bet you say that to all the girls.”

_“Show me a skirt, and my brain simply whirls.”_

“Shush.” The nurse was still smiling, completely oblivious to Jack watching her, “Matron won’t have singing. You’ll get a good telling off if she hears you.”

The man didn’t heed her warnings and continued his song, _“I love their dimples and curls. Tick tock, wind up the clock. And I start my day over again. Tick tock, wind up the clock. And I start my day over again.”_

Gwen stole his attention away as her voice filtered through the coms, “Jack, you see anything?” 

“Yeah,” he answered her, “I’ve got a few ghosts here. What about you?”

“Nothing yet,” she told him before he heard a small gasp on her end, “I see them” Gwen watched with wide eyes as a nurse pushed past and went to a soldier slumped in a chair behind her

The nurse touched his shoulder, “They’re ready for you now.” And the soldier walked off, presumably to be passed fit and sent back to the front. Gwen watched sadly as the nurse started to leave but got a shock when the woman looked right at her and spoke, “Hello? Hello?” The nurse was talking to her, “I see you. Why won’t you leave us alone? You shouldn’t be here.”

Gwen held her hands out, “I don’t mean you any harm.”

‘You shouldn’t be here!” The nurse repeated, “You shouldn’t be here!”

“Gwen!” Jack was running down the corridor and snapped her out of it, the nurse disappearing before her eyes as he put a hand on her shoulder, “What is it? What did you see?”

“She spoke to me” Gwen clenched her shaking hands, “The nurse- the ghost, she saw me”

Well, Jack thought as he looked around the corridor, that can’t be good.

-

Meanwhile on Penarth Pier Tommy was clutching his head in pain, “Argh, that hurt” he waved Ianto’s concern away though as it soon passed and continued on their walk, “Where were we? Oh yeah, you were telling me all about the World Cup”

“It hardly seems important now, are you sure you’re okay?” Ianto insisted, “Maybe we should go back to the hub so Owen can check you over”

“Are you kidding? This is my one day a year I get to experience life! I don’t want to waste a second of it” Tommy laughed, “I want to see this film you were talking about, I’ve never been to the pictures before” 

“Okay.” Ianto caved with a smile, going to the cinema being one of his guilty pleasures, “Let’s go.” Don’t get him wrong he loved it when Jack took him to see a film but for once he’d like to actually watch what was on the screen without someone nibbling his ear inappropriately 

Tommy grinned, “I’ll race you. Come on!”

But before Ianto could chase after him his phone rang, the screen lighting up, proudly flashing Jack’s name, “Hello Jack” he hoped everything was okay on his end

“Ianto?” Tommy called from down the pier with a frown on his face as Ianto shook his head slowly

With a sigh, Ianto looked up at the nearest CCTV camera Jack was no doubt watching them on and ended the call, “We’re on our way.”

-

In the conference room, the whole team assembled, Jack shared what he knew, “Demolishing the hospital is what triggers the time shift.”

“So don’t demolish it” Owen fixed the problem easily

Jack burst his bubble, “Too late, it’s already started.”

“What happens next?” Gwen asked

Jack tried to think of a simple way of explaining complex physics, “Two different times should never exist simultaneously. You want to be in 1918 or now. Not both.”

“So when 1918 becomes fully manifest…” Tosh trailed off

Ianto finished, “It’s really going to screw us up.”

Seeing that Gwen was still struggling with the concept, not that he blamed her, it was complicated, Jack used a piece of paper as an example, “Okay. Linear time.” He balled up the paper, “Screwed up time. Imagine your life as a straight line, from birth to death. Now try drawing that line on the paper without straightening it out.”

“It’s impossible.” Gwen frowned

Ianto sat up straighter in his seat and nodded sadly, “That’s why we’ve got to stop it”


	23. Instructions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a short one today but I have a good reason! I swear! Another story has been swimming around in my head and it wouldn’t leave me alone until I started writing it so keep an eye out :) In the meantime I hope you like this bitesized update

They knew what they had to do, well, actually they didn’t. Not exactly, Jack knew he had to open the box and receive his instructions but the tin was still firmly sealed shut, “Anything?” He asked even as he could see with his own two eyes that nothing had changed

Ianto looked up from the opposite side of Jack’s desk in the office and glanced pointedly down at the box between them, “Still locked.”

“Okay,” Jack nodded and squared his shoulders, “we need to find out how fast the time shift is happening, get some idea when it’s going to complete.”

“I can go with Tosh to the hospital to get some readings” Ianto offered, “Cover the place with rift monitors.”

“I don’t want you anywhere near that place” Jack shut his idea down immediately, scoffing when his lover raised an eyebrow in question, as if he had to ask, “I’ve learnt my lesson, you’re not going anywhere near the time shifts, not with your history of hitching lifts through time”

Ianto had to admit he had a point, “Fall through time twice and suddenly you’re not trusted near the heart of a time shift” he sighed sarcastically, “What can I say, the rift is fond of me”

Jack smirked. Before pulling on his serious face, “You and Gwen should go through the files downstairs in the archives, see if there’s anything we missed. Owen can go with Tosh to the Hospital,” he looked down at their guest through the office windows, “I’ll keep Tommy company”

-

Owen personally thought the hospital was a little creepy, and he’d worked in these sorts of places for a long time before joining Torchwood. He tired to focus on what they were doing, Tosh needed his help placing some of her testing equipment, not being able to reach high enough without her heels, “Need a hand?” He teased gently when he saw her on her tiptoes, trying to place a monitor

“Just a couple more.” She huffed, juggling the rift monitors she had left while trying not to fall over, “Once we’re done here we can head back to the hub”

Owen stopped her on the way out the door, careful to make sure they were off coms before asking, “Listen, Tosh, I’ve been meaning to ask, have you noticed anything strange between Tommy and Ianto?”

Had she? She didn’t think so, “What do you mean?”

Owen shrugged, “I don’t know, they just seem to have gotten very close very quickly. I don’t want everything to end in tears” 

“I guess Ianto feels as if he can be himself around Tommy,” Tosh admitted, looking at it from a different angle, “They have a shared experience, it must be nice for him to be able to talk about it with someone who isn’t Jack for a change”

“You don’t think anything else is happening between them then?” Owen prodded, he didn’t want to believe Ianto would do anything to hurt Jack but he’d noticed things had been a little frosty lately. He’d never let the team know in fear of them thinking he’d gone completely soft but he didn’t want Jack getting hurt.

“Are you kidding?” Tosh gave him a funny look, “No, not at all. Not every man that talks to Ianto wants to have sex with him” she had to admit he had a bit of a strange record, what with both the real Captain Harkness and Mark Lynch, but she couldn’t imagine him throwing away a long term relationship with Jack that spanned over a century for a quick romp with a World War One soldier. 

“Yeah, yeah. I suppose you’re right” Owen backed down, “It’s not like I think he has some weird fetish for defrosted men or anything. That’s Jacks territory I’m sure. I just..” he sighed, “I don’t want anyone getting hurt when its time to say goodbye is all”

Before Tosh could respond and completely shatter Owen’s image of heartless bastard, Gwen logged into their coms and interrupted them, “Owen, Tosh can you hear me?”

“What is it?” Tosh answered as Owen rolled his eyes

“I need you to go down into the East wing of the hospital. Head for the second floor, what used to be the radiology section.” She told them, “I think that area contains a clue to the time shift. I read this earlier, but it didn’t make any sense.”

In the Hub Ianto was reading the file back to her, “In the Torchwood 1918 field report at the hospital they describe a certain detail of their encounter. It reads, through a hole in the external wall, we hear the roar of great engines.” He read, “Outside is a man in strange armour, ripping a Union Jack, perhaps some future hero of the Empire.”

“What does it mean?” Gwen asked, “It doesn’t sound like us now. The time-shift has started, but maybe it doesn’t complete until years in the future.”

“Got it.” Owen looked through a hole in the wall as a police siren went off and saw a poster advertising car insurance, “It’s some kind of advert for car insurance. That sound they heard must have been traffic. It’s not years in the future. It’s now.”

-

In his office, Jack had been regaling Tommy with absurd stories about his many, many adventures when Gwen and Ianto rejoined them just in time for the rift monitors to start beeping, “Ianto, take Tommy downstairs, Gwen take a look at this” once Ianto had taken Tommy away, Jack snatched the previously sealed box up and tore the lid off

“Instructions?” Gwen asked hopefully as Jack pulled out a few sheets of paper, not feeling too confident when his face paled dramatically, “Jack?”

“Yeah, it’s instructions” he set the papers down as he reached blindly for his chair, falling down into his seat like a puppet with cut strings, “For Tommy,” he looked out of the office windows, with dreaded running through his veins, down to where his lover was showing Tommy something on the computer, “And Ianto.”


	24. Flipping a Switch

Eventually, after a good hour of convincing Jack that he absolutely wouldn’t get pulled through the time shift, Ianto was allowed to go fetch Tommy the clothes they had for him in storage. Only allowing himself a few moments once he was alone to panic in private because even though he’d convinced Jack he would get pulled through he was still secretly terrified he would. He couldn’t handle another trip in time, he honestly didn’t know what he would do and he had a bad track record of ending up where he wasn’t supposed to be.

It was a simple plan, easy to follow, practically impossible to mess up but Ianto was still scared that’d he’d somehow manage it. All he had to do was take Tommy to the hospital and let him return to his own time without following. He could do this.

Jack had the team sat around the conference table once he returned with Tommy’s clothes, “In twelve hours, there’ll be a brief moment when both times exist before the time shift completes, when Tommy can be here now, and in 1918.” He explained, “He needs to be in the hospital ready to step from one time to another. 

“So he’d be right inside the time shift?” Gwen followed along

“And he can close the fracture that caused it.” Jack nodded

Tommy sat up in his seat and leant forwards across the table, “And when the fracture’s closed?”

Glad he hadn’t gotten emotionally involved, Owen told him bluntly, “1918 will be back where it belongs.”

“So will I.” He asked, “For good?”

Jack knew what was going through his mind, he’d be back to the war and not only that he knew a second one was coming, “Yeah. You’re the only one who can do this.” He pressed, “We brought you from 1918 to now, and when you go back to 1918, your life will be like a thread stitching time back together again.”

“How?” Tosh asked

Slapping his hand on the table, Jack grabbed the device he’d been keeping under his chair and held it up so everyone could see, “This is a Rift manipulator. It’s basically a key. Once you’re inside the time shift, you can close the door behind you.”

“And that’s it?” Tommy asked, “I’m gone?”

Ianto hated this, he didn’t have the words to describe how much this situation was tearing at his soul because he knew exactly what Tommy was going through. Had he not been shuffled about through time like a pawn himself? Forced to live through a bloody, pointless war? And now they were sending him right back and there was nothing he could do to help.

Setting the cardboard box down gently that he’d dug up from downstairs, Ianto spoke softly, “We’ve kept these in the archives. You were wearing them in the hospital when Torchwood took you.”

“Good job the moths haven’t got into them.” Tommy chuckled but everyone could tell it was forced as he tried to put on a brave face, “So I’ll be saving the world in some pyjamas? How daft is that?”

“Ianto, can I have a word with you in the office, Tommy stay with Gwen and Tosh”

“Of course sir,” Ianto followed him closely and let out a deep breath when he closed the office door, “What happens to him Jack? Please, I need to know”

“He dies,” Jack sat down at his desk and rested his head in his hands, “Three weeks after we send him back, he’s shot by a firing squad.” He knew Ianto didn’t need lies or platitudes right now, he wanted to know exactly what he was getting into, no matter what the personal costs, “I wish I could do this for you, but I can’t”

“It’s shell shock, isn’t it?” Ianto felt his gut twist painfully as thoughts of his own counselling bubbled to the surface, “That’s why he was in the hospital.”

“When Torchwood took him and froze him, they froze his most recent memories.” Jack agreed, “When he returns to 1918, he’ll revert back to who he was. He’ll be shell-shocked and so he’ll be executed by the British Army for cowardice.”

Logically Ianto knew that was something that had happened, he’d lived through it, he’d seen it with his own eyes but living in this time, learning how people had changed had changed him as well. Before it had been something that happened, he didn’t particularly like it but it was just a fact of life but now things were different and he didn’t want to think of how things used to be. 

“Is there no other way?” He asked quietly, feeling every inch the coward he feared he was, “Does it have to be me?”

“He trusts you.” Jack shrugged his shoulders helplessly and showed him the sketch Torchwood did in 1918 of Ianto and Tommy, “Torchwood 1918 saw you with Tommy in the hospital, telling him what to do. It has to be you” he sighed, putting his own fears aside, “I know you’re strong enough to do this.” Ianto was one of the strongest men he’d ever met, he had to start trusting him again.

Squaring his shoulders Ianto nodded slowly and started detaching himself from the situation, he had to think of this as a mission now, he couldn’t allow his personal feelings to get in the way when the stakes were so high, “He has until Tomorrow morning, he should come home with us tonight, we could play cards or something”

“Of course,” Jack agreed, knowing his lover needed to do this, to give Tommy one last good memory, “he’s not our prisoner.”

So it was decided, Tommy was more than happy to go home with them and if he thought it was strange the two men lived together he didn’t say anything about it. They spent the evening swapping stories, cheating badly at cards and drinking more than they probably should. The jealousy Jack had felt before bled away quickly as the sun set, Tommy was just glad to have a friend and he’d seldom heard Ianto laugh so much since he came back home from his trip with the Doctor. Did it really matter that he wasn’t he one making him laugh right now? They had years to make a each other laugh, Tommy only had today.

“You did a wonderful thing tonight” Jack whispered in the darkness of the kitchen as Ianto crept downstairs to join him, having settled Tommy upstairs in the spare bedroom,, “I know that can’t have been easy”

“It wasn’t” Ianto admitted as rested against the kitchen counter, smiling sadly at Jack who sat on the barstool next to him, “but he deserved to have a nice night, he probably won’t remember but he’ll need all the strength he can get when he goes back tomorrow”

“Back to his own time” Jack mused

Ianto stared at his sock clad feet and swallowed past the lump in his throat, “Would you go back to yours? If you could.”

“Why,” Jack nudged their legs together, looking up at the man he loved with heart eyes in full effect, “would you miss me?”

Did he even need to ask? Ianto looked down at him and felt some of the tension eating him up fade away, “Yep.”

“I left home a long time ago.” Jack told him, reaching out a hand to hook around Ianto’s waist, “I don’t really know where I really belong.” He pulled him close so, “Maybe that doesn’t matter any more.”

“I know you get lonely.” Ianto admitted, opening up, “I do too”

Jack tried not to let his emotions choke him up but it was a close call, “Going home wouldn’t fix that. Being here, I’ve seen things I never dreamt I’d see. Loved people I never would have known if I’d just stayed where I was.” He slid up from his chair and crowded Ianto against the counter, speaking softly, “And I wouldn’t change that for the world.”

Breathing unevenly but in the best way, Ianto felt a spark ignite inside of him, something that had been missing since he came home slammed through his body full force and the only thing he could think to do that could possibly translate such a feeling to his partner was to seize him by the front of his shirt and pull him in for a passionate kiss.

He channelled everything he was into that kiss, all the sadness and fear he felt but all the love and loyalty as well, the passion and the heartbreak, the confusion and the joy, all of it poured into a single kiss that left Jack feeling overwhelmed but complete.

“What was that?” Jack panted as he was finally released, not that he was complaining but things had been so chaste since Ianto got back and he hadn’t been expecting them to suddenly start going at it like rabbits, “Ianto I-”

“Please,” it was like a switch had been flipped, Ianto didn’t know what had brought it on but suddenly he needed Jack more than he needed air, “I need you.” He gripped his shirt tightly in his fists, “Right now. Jack, I don’t- I just-”

“Hey, hey, I’m right here” Jack cradled his face between his palms and pressed another slow, almost torturous kiss against his lips, “Let me take care of you,” he trailed kisses down his neck slowly, “Can you let me do that?”

Panting harshly as he tried to keep a tight reign on his fleeting sense of control, Ianto closed his eyes and just let himself enjoy the way Jack was making him feel, “Always”


	25. Keeping Quiet

They knew they had to be quiet, Tommy was asleep just across the hall after all but the threat of being found out only made what they were doing even more thrilling. It reminded Ianto of how they used to sneak around in the past but only better now because the fear of being caught didn’t extend to the fear of getting prosecuted because of it. He’d been holding back for so long now, he’d kept Jack at a distance because he wasn’t sure he was ready to just pick up where they left off but he realised now that none of that mattered, all that mattered was that Jack was here. They were both oh so alive and free to do as they pleased, he just wanted to hold on tight and never let go.

“Ianto,” Jack chuckled breathlessly into the space between them as he closed their bedroom door quietly behind them, “You’re going to have to let go of me so I can get my shirt off”

“Not yet,” Ianto complained as he focused on leaving a trail of harsh kisses down his neck, “I’m busy”

“Oh, you’re busy” Jack started to laugh in full before the air was stolen out of his lungs, Ianto pushing him against the wall roughly as he ground their hips together, “Don’t stop”

Nipping at the sensitive skin behind his ear, Ianto whispered, “Wasn’t planning to”

While Jack was loving everything that Ianto was currently doing, boy did that man know exactly what to do to rial him up, he eventually had to turn the tables on him to move them forward before he came in his trousers like a schoolboy. Jack captured his lips in a kiss, deepening it as he took Ianto’s hands away from his shoulders and down towards his hips instead, using his own hands to deftly undo his lovers shirt as he smoothed them down his chest.

He pushed them away from the wall and towards the bed, flicking the light off as he went without much thought and was surprised when Ianto pulled back from the kiss with a strange look in his eye. For a moment Jack feared he’d pushed too far too fast, maybe all Ianto had wanted was to make out against the wall tonight, “Ianto-”

“We can leave the light on if you want,” he panted slightly, his chest heaving as he spoke in hushed tones into the darkness, “I… I’d like to see you”

Jack felt love and pride swell up in his heart, this man in his arms had come so far. He remembered the days when Ianto had hidden himself away, he’d always been quick to cover up and self conscious about his body to the point he’d refuse to undress unless all the lights were off. He rarely ever voiced what he wanted and now here he was doing just that, “Yes,” Jack groaned as he turned the lights back on, drinking in the sight before him, committing it to memory, “We can do whatever you want baby” 

For once Ianto didn’t correct him, he accepted the term of endearment and pulled Jack in for another toe curling kiss in hopes he wouldn’t notice the blush painting his cheeks, it wouldn’t do to let him know he didn’t actually hate being called as much, would it?

Jack loosened Ianto’s tie, undid it and slipped it off, dropping it to the floor as he pushed his shirt from his shoulders, Ianto’s sinful fingers working on his belt as he lowered them both onto the bed. He’d missed this, had been waiting for Ianto to initiate it for what felt like years. He would have waited for as long as his lover needed but god was he glad they were doing it now, 

Ianto was tugging at his shirt as he became almost frantic in their kissing, as if he’d decided things weren’t going fast enough and Jack knew he should probably slow them down, he wanted them both clear headed for what was coming next, “Hey, not so fast,” he whispered, “we’ve got all night.”

“I want you,” Ianto was writhing underneath him, a flush traveling down his neck as he told Jack exactly what he wanted, “Naked and underneath me, I want to-” he struggled for the words but it didn’t matter because Jack knew exactly what he was trying to say and was ridiculously turned on by his attempts at dirty talk, his voice husky and rough, “I want to fuck you into the mattress” well he hadn't been expecting that

Judging by the look on Ianto’s face those weren’t the words he was planning on using either but Jack couldn’t care less, “God,” he groaned, closing his eyes for a minute to control himself as he helped Ianto remove their clothes, “Yes, yes to all of that” he flipped them over so Ianto was on top of him and spread his legs so he could settle between them, “I trust you baby, please”

Looking up at the man above him, Jack was sure he was an angel. The light above him was shining down beautifully on his body, his physique much more solid than it was when he first came back. His diet and exercise regime obviously paying off as strong shoulders and lightly muscled stomach winked hello at him from above. While he did miss the soft tummy of yonder year he knew a few good meals and lazy mornings could coax it back.

Before Jack could resume the kiss, Ianto pressed forward and planted several open mouthed kisses to his collar bone. He smiled against skin as Jack’s hands clenched on his shoulders and moved his lips further down, lavishing attention of his chest and abdomen as Jack squirmed beneath him, “Stop teasing” he groaned

“Who said I was teasing?” Ianto’s breath ghosted over his stomach before dipping down to press a few more open mouthed kisses to his thighs, “You know the rules Captain,” he murmured as he looked up at him with big blue eyes, “hands above your head”

Jack did as he was told easily, it was just one of those things that made his lover uniquely precious. Ianto didn’t often do this, preferring to indulge in other ways of pleasuring his partner in bed and froze up whenever Jack tried to touch him while he did go down on him but Jack didn’t mind. It was just one of those things that made Ianto who he was. Jack would never pressure him into it but as he Ianto leaned forward he couldn’t help but cry out in pleasure. The warm, wet pressure around his cock sending him spiralling in pleasure, the suction just right as Ianto bobbed his head up and down, working what he couldn’t take into his mouth with his hand, “Ianto- god-” he tossed his head back, unable to watch him lewdly bobbing any longer in fear he would finish before the nights fun really got started, “Fuck”

Ianto pulled off to catch his breath, still managing to be a smart arse, “I’m getting to that” He bent back down and swirled his tongue around Jack’s tip with such skill that it was almost over within a matter of minutes, but Ianto knew how to stretch it out as well, easing off just as he felt him start to twitch.

Eventually, once he decided Jack’d had enough, he pulled off and crawled back up so he could peck at Jack’s lips, too out of breath to really commit to a kiss as he focused on the here and now. Occasionally a memory of The Master beating him or one of the guards choking him would crop up but he pushed them aside and redoubled his attention on Jack, staying in the moment as he let his partner anchor him with muffled moaning and panted breaths.

Unable to deny his lover any longer, Ianto grabbed the lube Jack kept in the nightstand and opened it up. Quickly, he coated his fingers and wasted no time slipping one inside Jack. Looking into his lovers eyes, he crooked his finger experimentally and Jack jolted with a moan, a sexy, almost desperate expression settling onto his features for a moment. Ianto began to slowly move his finger in and out, all the while keeping a watch on Jack’s reactions. It had been a while, for him at least, and he didn’t want to make any mistakes.

Jack felt his entire body shiver at the welcomed intrusion as Ianto added a second finger. “Ianto baby …more” Jack couldn't help but plead.

“Patience sweet-cheeks” Ianto teased him as he played his body like an instrument, in some ways it was like riding a bike, he knew what he had to do at each step but at the same time sex was never the same with Jack. It was always different, always unique as they joined together and shared their bodies, giving and taking in tandem, “Do you think-”

“I’m ready,” Jack rocked his hips up enticingly, “I swear, please just stop teasing”

Ianto knew they had a problem as soon as he pushed inside Jack’s willing body, the heat and the friction almost had him falling over the edge already and he hadn’t even started to move yet. It had been so long since he and Jack like this he wasn’t going to last long at all, “Jack, stop for a minute” he pleaded as he tried to push down the embarrassment and shame clawing up his throat, he was already teetering on the edge and Jack rocking his hips like that to urge him to move wasn’t helping, “Please, just stay still for a moment”

“Ianto?” Jack looked up at him with concern as he ran his hands up his body, feeling how tightly coiled he was, how he was practically shaking as he tried to hold himself together, “Baby, open your eyes, look at me”

Forcing them open, Ianto felt his breath catch, Jack looked so beautiful, so fucking handsome sprawled underneath him, “Just give me a second”

Jack did as he was asked, sitting still even as it felt so good having his lover inside him. He should have known this would happen, had Ianto not told him he’d been gone for a year? He could only imagine he hadn’t had the best of times and now jumping in at the deep end physically after so long was going to be completely overwhelming, “Ianto,” Jack ran his hands up and down his back as his lover shivered, “this isn’t just about me, I want you to feel good too. Come on,” he twitched his hips upwards and smiled when Ianto’s breath hitched, “take what you need from me”

Slowly but surely he started to move, pistoning in and out as they both struggled to keep quiet with their guest just across the hall. It didn’t last long but Jack didn’t mind as he held Ianto through his orgasm, quickly bringing himself off as well which honestly wasn’t that much of a struggle seeing as he was already pretty close, “I’m sorry” Ianto pulled the sheets around himself as he carefully slid out of Jack’s body and rolled to his side of the bed, practically radiating embarrassment, “I’m sorry Jack, I just-”

“You have nothing to apologise for” Jack rolled over as well and spooned against his back, pressing soft kisses to the back of his neck as he felt Ianto slowly unwind and relax back into him, “That was amazing, being intimate with you is always amazing. I love you”

Unable to stop himself, Ianto quickly shuffled around and rested his head in Jack’s chest, clinging to him instead, “I love you too”

Jack rolled with it, the sudden change of pace a surprise but not a bad one as he enjoyed their post coital snuggling that Ianto would later deny and call a ‘manly hug’. He wasn’t expecting anything more really, usually Ianto would fall asleep soon after their trysts but tonight he seemed to have something on his mind, “Are you okay?” Jack eventually cracked after ten minutes of silent snuggling, “You don’t regret it do you?”

“Of course not,” Ianto answered him swiftly, but honestly, “I just… maybe… can you pass me the little black book on the nightstand please?”

Ah, the little black book. Jack had seen him writing in it on occasion but had never taken a peek no matter how much he wanted to, he respected Ianto’s privacy too much for that, “Of course,” he reached over and grabbed it, handing it over quickly, “here you go”

Ianto took the book but didn’t move to open it as he instead pulled Jack into a closer embrace, “I was thinking that I could tell you about it, if you want to hear it that is”

“Hear what?” Jack asked, not following until Ianto gave him a pointed look and he finally clued in, “About your trip? Ianto, you know you don’t have to do this. Of course I want to know what happened but you don’t have to tell me until you’re ready”

“I don’t want to keep holding back,” Ianto clutched the tiny book tightly in one hand as the other gripped Jack’s waist, “I want to be here with you and I can’t do that if part of me is still trapped in the past”

“Okay,” Jack ran a soothing hand down his back, so different to the desperate scratching he’d done earlier as he forced himself to stay calm for his lovers sake, “I’m all ears”

Taking a few deep breaths, Ianto debated where to start, “I already told you that the Doctor was responsible for reversing the year I lived on earth, that he brought me back to Cardiff a few months later than planned.” He stared intently at Jack’s chest as he told him, “There was a man, an evil, vile, manipulative, horrid man who hurt and killed so many people for no reason at all. You met him, before everything went to shit for good. Harold Saxon, also known as the m-” he couldn’t say it, how pathetic was that, after all this time he couldn’t even say the fuckers name, “the ma-” he growled in frustration and forced the words past his lips, “The Master”

“What did he do?” Jack already knew about Saxon being an alien, he knew he stole the Doctors Tardis and escaped from the end of the universe but what came next made him feel sick to the stomach

“I was his prisoner for months, he kept me in a tiny cell” his voice was so quiet that Jack had to strain his ears to hear him, every word sounded like it was costing Ianto lifetimes of pain as he whispered them into the space between them, “He would hurt me just for the hell of it, would order the guards to- I was in so much pain but the worst part was even once I escaped I couldn’t be near you” he chanced a glance up and saw horror and pain reflected in Jack’s eyes, “Something happened, we couldn’t touch without it causing me immense amounts of pain, it felt like my skin was on fire whenever we tried. I guess when I came back I was still a little scared it would still be like that”

“I’m so sorry” Jack didn’t know what he was supposed to say to that, he’d just been told the love of his life had been kept prisoner for months, tortured and that he had only added to the pain once he managed to escape, “It doesn’t hurt now does it? Whatever it was got reversed as well?” He couldn’t stand the thought of hurting the man he loved

“Everything’s fine now” Ianto reassured him, “I don’t know exactly what happened, the Doctor said it was something to do with vortex energy? I didn’t really understand what he meant but it doesn’t matter, we’re okay now”

“God Ianto,” Jack hurried his nose in his hair and held him close, “I love you so much, I’m so sorry I ever let that happen to you”

“It wasn’t your fault” Ianto sighed as he looked down at the little black book, he’d been writing down everything he could remember about the year, putting it into words had helped him deal with the trauma, “There’s more but I don’t think I can talk about it, not yet”

Jack completely understood, “Of course, god I’m so sorry I kept pushing you to open up. You don’t have to tell me anything you’re not comfortable with” he pressed kisses down the side of his face until he reached his lips, kissing him like he was something precious, like spun glass, “I’m so proud of you, you’re so unbelievably brave and I love you” he kissed him again, “Ianto I love you so much”

“I love you too” Ianto managed a small smile as he dumped the book back on the nightstand, shuffling around until they were both comfortable again, “We should probably get some sleep, we’ve got a busy day tomorrow”

Jack held his lover close as he drifted to sleep, ready to wake him gently once the usual nightmares started and was pleasantly surprised when for the first time in far too long, Ianto slept soundly through the night.


	26. Just for a Little While

The Next morning Jack wanted time to stand still, just for a little while. He didn’t want to face the realities of today, he didn’t want Ianto risking his life to send Tommy back to his own death, he didn’t want to get out of bed and he certainly didn’t want Ianto to wake up. He looked so peaceful, a nice change from the usual frown on his face in the morning. Instead he was laying plaint in his arms, the epitome of adorable as he snuffled slightly in his sleep. Jack didn’t even feel embarrassed that Ianto reduced him to this, he would gladly spend the rest of his exceedingly long life just holding the other man as he slept peacefully. 

The universe of course, didn’t care for what Jack wanted and Ianto awoke shortly after with a sweet pout to soften the blow, “Morning Handsome,” Jack relaxed his grip around his lovers waist and smiled dopily when he didn’t move away, instead shuffling closer forward with a kitten yawn, “sleep okay?”

“Like a log.” Ianto sighed as he glanced over at the clock, “Last night was…” Jack waited with baited breath, staying quiet as Ianto slowly woke up and formulated the rest of that sentence, “Amazing”

Jack couldn’t help but grin as he pressed a quick kiss to the tip of Ianto’s nose, eyes twinkling as the other man pulled a disgruntled face, “I thought so too, I’ve missed this” he said as he let his hands wonder a little, nothing too intense or leading, just enjoying the chance to feel up his naked man, “We can take this at your pace”

“My pace?” Ianto raised an eyebrow as he shifted slightly so he could sit up, not bothering to pull the covers up to his chest like he usually did, instead letting them pool on his lap. Jack would normally be salivating at the sight of his lovers unabashed nudity yet his eyes couldn’t help but catch on the relatively new scarring that was staring back at him.

Scars didn’t bother him, Ianto knew that, but Jack couldn’t help but feel upset that they were there. Not because he thought they in any way made Ianto look less attractive, it was more because he didn’t know where they came from, the story behind each mark left behind. It made him scared of what had happened to his lover, what he couldn’t remember happening.

“I don’t know about you Jack but I feel as if we’ve waited long enough,” Ianto’s quiet chuckle brought Jack out of his own head just in time to smile back, “I just want things to get back to the way they were, or as close to that as possible”

Jack leant forward and pressed a kiss to the closest piece of skin he could reach, in this case Ianto’s ribs, “Me too”

-

Owen looked up with a smile as Dianne pushed the kitchen door open, a smirk slowly spreading across his lips when he took in what she was wearing, or rather what she wasn’t, “Don’t even think about it” she warned him as she adjusted his oversized shirt, looking pointedly at their son in his arms, “I didn’t hear him this morning”

“You needed your sleep,” Owen pushed away thoughts of hanky-panky and refocused on feeding their boy, tilting the bottle slightly so he could latch on better, “He was a hungry little mite, weren’t you? Yes” he pressed a kiss to his sons head, “And he left me a nice little surprise in his nappy that went all the way up his back”

Dianne grinned as she put the kettle on and blew him a kiss, “You’re an angel. Thank you”

“Yeah well,” Owen sniffed importantly as he set the empty bottle down and shifted Nathan onto his shoulder to burp him, “My mug does proclaim me the best dad in the world, I’ve got a reputation to maintain”

“Oh I know,” Dianne poured herself a cup of tea as their little tyke let out a huge burp considering his small stature, “he gets that from you”

Owen puffed up like the proud father he was and crooned at the little man in his arms, sighing as his work phone pinged, no rest for the wicked, “That’ll be Jack, we’re sending Tommy home today.” He passed their son over and pressed twin kissed to their foreheads, grabbing his keys on the way out, “I’m not sure what time I’ll be home, don’t wait up for me”

“Go on,” Dianne raised an eyebrow as he dithered on the doorstep, “Go save the world and come home in time for tea, we’re not going anywhere”

“I love you” Owen hung off the door

“I love you too idiot, now get gone,” she waved him off with a loving smile, “you don’t want to be late”

-

Jack had insisted he go with Ianto and Tommy to the hospital, leaving Owen, Tosh and Gwen to man the hub in his absence but he wasn’t exactly making it any easier. Tommy naturally had been quiet all morning but Ianto hadn’t expected him to try and run away before they could sending him back to his own time, “Tommy, wait!” Ianto chased after him, down the hospital corridors with Jack hot on his heels

“I won’t do it.” Tommy backed up against a wall, clearly terrified, “I can’t go back.”

“You’ve got to.” Jack told him

Tommy was shaking, his whole body vibrating with fear and Ianto felt his heart shatter when the previously brave soldier started to cry, “No! I know what’ll happen. They’ll send me back to the Front. I’ll be back in the trenches.” He grabbed Ianto’s shoulders and begged, “Help me, you know what it’s like. Don’t send me back!”

Gritting his teeth, Ianto distanced himself from his own emotions bubbling to the surface and pushed the pleading hands away, “You’ve got to go.”

“Why me?” Tommy spat, each word slicing through Ianto like a knife, “You’re no better than the generals. Sitting safely behind the lines, sending us over the top. Any one of you lot could go, but you’re not, are you. You’re sending me.”

“We belong here.” Jack spoke up, pulling Ianto back a bit in case Tommy lashed out

Tommy wrung his hands, “He doesn’t” he accused, pointing at Ianto, “He’s not supposed to be here either, send him instead!”

“No” Jack needed to shut this down, sending Ianto was not an option, it was never an option and would never _be_ an option, “Tommy, it has to be you”

Ianto swallowed past the lump in his throat as he nodded, “I’m sorry.”

“I’ve been shoved from pillar to post all my life by the Army, by Torchwood.” Tommy slumped down against the wall, “All this time I’ve had, it means nothing.”

Jack tired to pull him to his feet, “Tommy-”

“Get off” The soldier shrugged him off

“Tommy,” Jack tired again, “get up.”

Struggling valiantly, Tommy shouted, “No!”

“Leave us,” Ianto pushed him back gently, “Give us a minute alone.” When Jack didn’t move he added pointedly, “Please.”

“You’ve got two minutes.” Jack clearly didn’t trust Tommy not to harm him and only move just outside the door, close enough to barge back in at a moments notice if the man started making trouble

Ianto looked down at the broken man in front of him and crouched so they were at the same level, reaching out to touch his arm softly, “Listen,” he squeezed his arm to get his attention, “you’re a hero. Do you know that? Because you stop the time shift and save everyone” Ianto glanced at the doorway as Jack poked his head around, “Tommy, you save us all.”

“I can’t do it.” Tommy whispered brokenly

His stomach felt like one huge knot, twisting and turning painfully as it tightened with each word he spoke, “We need you.”

“I don’t want to be a hero.” Tommy begged, “I want to stay here, with you. You’re the only friend I have”

A wind blew through before Ianto could even begin to break his heart over the soft spoken words of a lost young man about to be sent back to a bloody pointless war, a bright light almost blinding the two of them, “Hello?” A Torchwood agent of the past called out, emerging from the light

“Tell them.” Ianto urged Tommy, “Tell them what to do. You’re the only one who can stop this. If you don’t-” he didn’t want to be melodramatic but this really was all down to him, “If you don’t, it’s the end of everything Tommy.” He picked up the rift manipulator Tommy had dropped and pressed it firmly into the mans hands

He felt like an executioner as he led Tommy to Harriet and Gerald, the two agents who would take Tommy to his death, “Take me.” Tommy’s voice shook but he stood firm, “I’m in there in the ward in 1918. You have to take me so I can be here now.” He shouted, “Just take me!” The wind blew back through as the light grew more intense and they were back in their own time again as it dimmed once more, “I’ll be gone soon.” Tommy said miserably 

“Remember the Rift key.” Ianto felt like he was going to be sick but he managed to hold himself together, “Use it. You’ve got to get back into bed like you’ve never been away. Then use the key. Tommy? Remember.” He clasped his shoulder as the rift monitors around them beeped, “It’s nearly time.”

Ianto let his tears fall as the light came back, standing firm as Tommy left his side to go back to 1918. He would give anything to spare this brave man pain, anything except take his place. He could never do that to Jack, not again. As much as he wanted to help Tommy, Ianto felt like he was going to suffocate on his guilt as he realised, he wanted to help himself more. 

“Ianto!” Jack barked as he dragged him from the room, “We’ve got to go” they turned and ran from the hospital, Jack not letting Ianto look back as he urged him forwards, “Come on” there was no way he was losing the love of his life again, if Ianto got dragged through the time shift then he’d have no choice but to jump through after him.

“What’s happening?” Ianto asked as the hospital started shaking beneath his feet, alarms blaring loudly in his ears, “Jack?”

“The time shift hasn’t stopped.” Jack told him as he climbed inside the SUV, “We need to get back to the hub,” he keyed onto coms and started giving the team their orders, “Toshiko, give me something”

“It’s spreading out from the hospital.” She told him through his earpiece as Ianto tried to get one of her screens to work in the back of the SUV, “Chunks the past erupting into the present.”

Ianto looked up from the screen he was trying to use as Jack turned an exceptionally sharp corner, “What about the Rift key?” That should have stopped this

“Tommy isn’t using it.” Jack grit his teeth together as he ran a red light, swerving to avoid the other cars, “Shell shock remember? One of us will have to go back,” he didn't miss a beat, “not you Ianto” as if he was about to volunteer.

“Jack, wait!” Owen suddenly sounded on through the coms, sounding a little breathless but none the less confident, “You’d get stuck in 1918, I’ve got a better idea.”


	27. Understood?

All in all Jack wasn’t sold on Owen’s ‘better idea’. He claimed that since the time shifts were forcing the rift to open, they could use it to their advantage but Jack had learned a long time ago that you simply didn’t tamper it’s the rift, “I’m not sure Owen, it sounds risky”

“A tiny amount should do it.” Owen wheedled, “It’s better than sending you back physically, do you really want to live through the last century all over again?” Wheedling was slowly turning to snark, “Because we know for a fact we don’t have a future version of you on ice downstairs”

Tosh agreed with the medic, “We know Tommy’s exact location in time. We can send an image back through to him”

Ianto was very much in the same boat as Gwen as they both tried to wrap their heads around the fact Owen and Tosh were talking about potentially harnessing psychic energy to do this, “Ianto,” Gwen leaned over as Jack went on another rant about how dangerous this could be, “are you getting any of this?”

“Barely” he admitted, a headache coming on as Owen exploded in a mess of arm waving and technical tripe way beyond him, “I think they’re talking about mental communication, telepathy?” He hazarded a guess, “But they lost me a while back” he didn’t feel so stupid knowing that Gwen didn’t understand either. He figured at least he had the excuse of coming from the past, “You?”

“I think Owen wants to send one of us back in Tommy’s mind,” Gwen lowered her voice as Jack and Owen stopped arguing so loudly, “No idea how though”

Thankfully the rest of the team decided to clue them in, “Fine,” Jack sighed, crossing his arms, “Let’s say I agree to send someone back into Tommy’s mind as a psychic projection, and we’re lucky enough that the connection is stable and our tech holds out. Who are we going to send?”

“He obviously won’t recognise any of us if we were to just pop up out of nowhere,” Tosh conceded, “So it will have to be someone he trusted before he was sent back, if we’re lucky his subconscious might latch onto them”

All at once all four sets of eyes locked onto Ianto who nervously glanced over his shoulder, hoping to see someone else, even Janet would be sight for sore eyes right about now. No such luck, “Me?” Why was it always him?

“You can make him use the key” Owen chewed on the end of his pen, “He trusted you”

“No” Jack barked at the same time Ianto sighed, “Fine” their eyes locking once more in a battle of wills that lasted far too long to be comfortable before Jack deflated and stood down. He didn’t really have any other choice, he’d rather Ianto go back as a projection than the real thing.

Though maybe if the Welshman had known Owen would be hooking him up to countless monitors and prepping a needle full of god knows what to inject him with, he might have reconsidered, “So, how long do I have?” He winced as the meddle pricked his arm, his muscles tensing despite him knowing it would only hurt more if they did.

“Minutes” Owen warned him, well aware that Jack was hovering over his shoulder, watching his every move like a fucking hawk, “You’ve got one shot, Ianto.” He checked his pulse as he started to go under, “That’s all, okay?”

“Sure” Ianto blinked as his vision started to fade, the things he did for Torchwood.

-

Tommy was sat in his hospital bed clutching at his knees as he stared at the strange brass instrument he couldn’t remember procuring when someone called out his name, a man ran into the room dressed in a tight suit and headed straight for him, “Hello?” He asked the man as he came to a stop by his bed, did he know him from somewhere? He didn’t look like one of the doctors.

“It’s me,” the man introduce himself, “Ianto”

He had no idea who he was, “Who?”

“I’m here to help you.” Ianto told him kindly as he pointed at the strange brass machine he’d found on his bed

Tommy picked it up and tried to hand it over, “Is this yours?”

“No.” The man looked oddly sad, “Do you know what it is? Tommy, it’s a key.” He sounded emotional and Tommy had to look around to make sure one of the nurses weren’t about to drag him off, crying didn’t do you no good here after all, “You have to use it.”

He clutched the supposed key tightly and gulped, “I’m scared.”

“It’s all right.” Ianto looked scared too

“That’s why I’m here.” Tommy admitted, “I’m a coward.”

The man sighed and sat on the edge of his bed, “No, you’re not” he told him empathetically, “You’re a fighter Tommy”

What did he know? He sounded like a mutter. Looked like one too dressed up like that, a fancy nutter thought, his suit looked mighty expensive. Tommy had no idea what a man like this was doing in a hospital, talking to him of all people, “What am I fighting for?” He asked, hoping for an answer that would make him feel brave even if it wasn’t true.

Ianto looked away from him briefly before turning back with a closed off expression, “For the future.” His façade started to crack a little as sadness started to seep through again, “Because you’re a hero.” Tommy idly wondered why he was so sad but didn’t question the man on it as he was given orders instead, “Tommy, use the key.”

Looking down he turned the small dial on the side of the brass key and watched with wide eyes as it released a small puff of golden energy, unknowingly closing the time shift for good, “I…”

Ianto reached out a hand as if to clasp on on the shoulder but pulled back at the last second, giving him a nod instead, “Thank you.”

Tommy watched as the man got up to leave with a second nod, this time paired with a salute that he was sure to reciprocate, “Goodbye”

-

Ianto’s mind returned to his body rather theatrically, his arms and legs shooting out wildly as he searched for something to hold onto without finding purchase as he gulped in greedy lungfuls of air. The sound of Jack shouting at Owen assaulting his ears from above, “Why isn’t he awake yet?!” Jack was demanding with his usual flair of dramatics , “You said he’d only be asleep for a few minutes!”

Uh oh, how long had he been asleep? Ianto hastily reached up to touch his face and was relieved to feel no stubble there, so it can’t have been that long then in the grand scheme of things, “Hello?” He called out, his voice not cracking or feeling harsh from misuse, “Jack, Owen?” It can’t have been that long, he felt fine, well rested in fact

The two idiots suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs leading down to the medbay and stared pushing each other to get down first, Jack winning by half a second as he reached out to grab his face between his hands gently, “Thank god” he didn’t wait for Ianto to speak before crashing their lips together in a very inappropriate kiss considering they were at work

It was a bloody good kiss though, he couldn’t complain.

“Ahem” Owen cleared his throat loudly, causing Ianto to push Jack off him with a slight blush that would have been ten times worse a year ago, “Stop mauling my patient Jack, I need to take a look at him”

Ianto almost didn’t want to ask as Owen started scanning him and listening to his heartbeat, “How long was I out?”

“Too long” Jack scowled darkly

While Owen actually responded to his question with a constructive answer, “Two hours”

Oh, two hours, Ianto thought to himself, that wasn’t so bad. Jack however, did not seem to agree when he voiced this, “Are you kidding?” His partner ranted, clearly angry even thought Ianto didn’t think it was his fault, “I’ve been worried _sick_ , when you didn’t wake up I thought I’d lost you. How could you be so _stupid?_ I should have done this, not you, it’s like you don’t even care if you die” he tore into him, “It’s honestly bordering on moronic at this point the amount of times you’ve danced with death”

Ianto let Jack tire himself out, he sat there in silence as Owen did test after test, listening to his partner chew him out with grace until the Captain faintly gave up and slumped onto a stool by the table, “Are you finished?” Ianto asked calmly, pushing Owen’s hands away from his head as Jack nodded so he could lean closer to the man, their noses were almost touching, “I am going to give you a pass this time because you are obviously stressed and emotional but Jackson,” he warned him, deadly serious, “if you _ever_ speak down to me like that again we’re going to have a real problem on your hands. Understood?” He was many things, but a puppy for Jack to kick was not one of them

“I-”

Ianto cut him off sternly, sitting back with a dangerous look about him, “Are we understood?” Each word was clipped and dripping in thinly vailed anger 

Even Owen knew there was only one right answer, thankfully Jack got it in one, “Understood”

“Good” Ianto turned to Owen to get his all clear before leaving to go lose himself in the archives for a while, needing the silence and solitude they offered so he could work through the tight ball of guilt and nausea slowly working it’s way up his throat as a result of what he’d just done. 

He’d marched Tommy off to his death and as if that wasn’t enough he’d been forced to listen to Jack belittle him as well. He just needed some space to get his head on straight again.

Owen let out a low whistle and made the sound of a whip cracking as Jack turned to him, “Never thought I’d see the day Captain Jack Harkness got his balls handed to him on a fucking silver platter. He’s got you right where he wants you”

“Shut up,” Jack frowned as he watched Ianto’s disappearing form, perhaps he had been a little harsh but for his lover to speak to him like that he must have really struck a nerve. He never wanted Ianto to feel like he was being spoken down to or ridiculed in their relationship and hoped to god that this wasn’t the first time he’d made him feel like that. He knew they had their ups and their downs but he never wanted to make Ianto feel uncomfortable around him, “How bad was it?” He could always trust Owen to be brutally honest about these things. 

“On a scale of one to ten?” Owen pursed his lips, “A good nine, you really put your foot in your mouth there boss, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re on the sofa tonight”

Sufficiently horrified, Owen watched as Jack scurried after Ianto with his tail firmly between his legs. It did him good to be put in his place, hopefully Ianto would be around for a long time to keep the Captain in line.


	28. Letting Go of The Past

Ianto resisted the urge to snap at Jack to leave him well alone when he heard the familiar heavy footsteps of his partner and instead turned around with a clearly unimpressed expression on his face, arms folded, his entire posture defensive as Jack gave him the puppy dog eyes, “What do you want Jackson?”

“Ouch, _Jackson,_ really?” Jack winced as Ianto pulled out the full name, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that back up there, it was wrong and I promise I’ll never do it again”

Tight lipped, Ianto turned around and focused on the file in his hand, “Don’t make promises you can’t keep” the words weren’t registering but that didn’t matter, he just had to look busy, “I’d like to be left alone for a while”

“Okay,” Jack hovered by the door, chewing lightly on his bottom lip, “Ianto?” He gave him a sad smile when his lover turned back around with an adorable frown, “I’m sorry about Tommy, I know that can’t have been easy”

Watching carefully, Jack could see Ianto dragging with himself over weather he was going to open up or push him away. He made the right decision in the end, “He trusted me,” Ianto closed his eyes with a deep sigh but stayed facing Jack, “right to the end.”

“Because you were strong.” Jack hedged a bit closer and reached out hesitantly to put a hand on his shoulder in comfort, “All of this is still here because of you.”

“Because of Tommy.” Ianto corrected, looking up at him with large sad eyes, “Let’s hope we’re worth it, eh?” The things he’d seen, the whole world burning and dying twice over. One war between the people and another against a madman, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were worth it.

Jack seemed pretty convinced though, so he guessed that was good enough for now.

The rest of the day passed pretty quickly and before he knew it Ianto was on his way home with Jack, still feeling peeved. The annoying thing was that he wanted comfort, he’d never be able to express it with words because that’s just not something he _did_ but he was still mad at Jack. He had a choice, stay angry at his partner for being a first class prick or forgive him and subtly hint that if Jack wanted to go to bed and just hold each other for a while then that would be fine with him.

In the end he compromised.

“You need to make it up to me” he announced as Jack closed the front door behind them, choosing not to address the baffled look on the other mans face as he steamrolled ahead, “I’m still mad at you so I’m not going to make any coffee.” He hung his coat up on the hook by the door and slid his hands into his pockets self consciously, “And seeing as you haven't slept for god knows how long you’re probably going to crash soon”

“ _Okay_ ” Jack paused, giving him a critical look as if he was trying to decode a message, “Bed then?”

“I’ll join you later, for sleep” that seemed a fitting punishment, and this way he got what he wanted as well. It was too bad that Jack saw right through his plan the minute he clung to him like a scared child when he joined him in bed. Still, at least he didn’t say anything about it, calming him down countless times throughout the night as he had nightmare after nightmare. 

Maybe he could forgive Jack in the morning.

-

The next morning Jack had told Ianto to take the day off, the rift was supposed to be quiet for a while and he’d barely slept at all last night. Reluctantly, Ianto agreed and stayed home while Jack went off to boss people around in the hub. He was pleasantly surprised when the solitude comforted him instead of suffocating him like it had tended to more often than not since he came back.

He really needed to stop thinking of things in terms of when he left and came back, it wouldn’t do him any good to keep calling attention to the year even if it was in the privacy of his own mind. Dr Gellar had been telling him that he could only get over some of the things he had seen if he accepted them as part of his past. The sooner he accepted that things had been shitty but they were over now, the sooner he could move past them. At least, that’s how he thinks it works.

With that in mind, Ianto decided it was time to face one his fears and started running a bath. It seemed silly to be scared of bathing but he still didn’t have the best relationship with water and he knew if he ever wanted to move on with his life, this was just another thing he had to face. If Tommy’s story had taught him anything it was that life was too short to spend it scared of everything. He’d been given a second chance where many others hadn’t and Ianto knew he had to start making the most of it. He had to pick himself up and stop wallowing, being miserable wasn’t going to help anyone.

So there he was, staring at the bathtub, feeling stupid as he had to psych himself up to even go near the damn thing. Ever since he got back he’d been taking efficient, straight to the point showers to get himself clean. He stayed in the water for a short a time as possible and hated ever second of it.

Today was about facing those fears, he couldn’t allow the Master to rule his life beyond the grave. If he stayed terrified of water for the rest of his life that meant the Master had won and Ianto just couldn’t allow that. Then again saying it was one thing and facing his fears was another, “Come on,” he whispered to himself as he approached the tub, “it’s just a bath”

Lifting a leg, Ianto slowly stepped inside the tub, just standing in the lukewarm water for a few seconds as he took calming breaths, in and out. See, he wasn’t drowning, water wasn’t forcing its way inside his lungs, he could breath perfectly fine, he just needed to sit down.

He crouched lower, his hands clasped to the side of the tub in a death grip as water reached his stomach. His entire lower body now submerged, Ianto’s breath quickened but he was okay, he could do this. He reached for the daft pink loofah Jack had bought and started cleaning himself, taking a couple of breaks throughout as the water became too much, memories of his time aboard the Valiant trying to force their way into his mind, “Stop it,” he whispered to himself, eyes squeezed shut, “just _stop_ ”

“Ianto?” Jack knocked on the door, startling him. He hadn’t even heard him come in, let alone climb the stairs, “Are you in there?”

“I’m in the bath” Ianto called back, pleased he didn’t sound too shaken up, he was fed up of being weak around Jack, “I didn’t say you could come in” he rolled his eyes as the other man opened the door and sat himself down on the closed lid of the toilet, “I didn’t hear the front door” what time was it? Front eh crack in the bathroom door, Ianto could see out of the bedroom window that the sun was setting, he’d been in here a while then.

“You’ve been crying” Jack reached out to touch his cheek, his fingers coming back wet

He hadn’t even realised, “Got shampoo in my eye” he lied

Jack looked pointedly at his bone dry hair but didn’t question him on it, “Room for one more?”

“I was just getting out” Ianto cleared his throat and reached for his towel, feeling guilty when he saw Jack’s kicked puppy expression. He’d opened up to him a little about the year that never was but Ianto wasn’t sure what more he could tell him without having a complete breakdown, “But…” he hedged as he tied the towel around his waist, “I’m still pretty exhausted after last night so if you wanted to keep me company we could always… lie down together”

“Mr Jones,” Jack grinned, honest joy plastered across his face as he teased his lover gently, “Are you proposing we _cuddle?_ ” The way he said it made it sound like a scandal and Ianto couldn’t help but smile back as he went into their bedroom to find some cotton sleep pants

“So what if I am?” He pulled them on and tossed his towel into the laundry basket, fighting back a blush as he told himself to be more open, to be brave unlike last night, “I like it when you cuddle me” there, he’d done it and the world hadn’t ended.

Jack’s face nearly split in two at the admission and as he practically threw himself on the bed, Ianto had to wonder just how much he’d been so closed of recently if a simple admission of enjoying spending time in Jack’s company could make the other man so happy, “Ianto?” Jack as looking up at him cheekily with open arms, inviting him to lie down with him, “You can be the little spoon”

“Don’t mind if I do,” he smiled weakly, feeling torn as Jack’s arms pulled him down and held him firmly, “I know I don’t say it enough but I love you Jack, all of you” he swallowed, placing his hands over Jack’s that were resting on his stomach, “So much so that it almost scares me sometimes” he’d never get used to this, he’d know Jack for years, had probably shared a bed with him more times than he’d had cooked meals but he still felt that spark of giddy pleasure each and every time.

“I love you too,” Jack pressed a small kiss against the back of his neck and gave him a gentle squeeze, keeping their embrace completely platonic as he kept his hands still even if they wanted to roam and tease, “I know things have been difficult for you lately but you know I’m here for you right? Whenever you need, whatever you need”

“And the same goes for you,” Ianto turned over and rested his forehead against Jack’s chest, enjoying the comfort he was being offered so freely, “It’s a two way street y’know”

“Oh I know” Jack entangled their legs comfortably, “just holding you is more than enough, you have no idea how lonely it was without you here”

“I can imagine” Ianto whispered back softly as Jack reached up to play with his bone dry hair, “I uh, I didn’t really get shampoo in my eyes” he admitted sheepishly, feeling stupid for lying about it now

“I figured as much” Jack hummed, not pressing the issue, instead letting Ianto come to him if he wanted

“When I was… during my stay aboard the Valiant, he would…” Ianto huffed, the words not coming out right, “Water was one of his favourites, he liked to see how far he could push it before I drowned. My cell would fill with water and... well it’s not fun reliving those memories every time I have to take a shower”

“I’m so sorry” Jack shook around him and Ianto didn’t know if it was with rage or sadness, “Jesus Ianto, every time I think you can’t possibly say something that makes it worse-”

“I can stop telling you about it” He offered, that’s what he had Dr Gellar for anyway, wasn’t it? He hadn’t wanted to drag Jack down with him and here he was, ruining what should have been a nice relaxing moment with his dark past

“No!” Jack told him quickly, “No, I want you to be able to tell me these things.” Even if it broke his heart

Ianto snuggled closer, later he would vehemently deny the little purr that Jack managed to coax out of him by scratching his scalp soothingly, “I’m exhausted,” he yawned, “I swear of you fall asleep before me and keep me up all night with your snores I’m kicking you out of bed”

“Okay, one, I don’t snore” Jack chuckled under his breath, “And two you’re clinging onto me like a baby koala, you’re not sending me anywhere”

“Not my fault your more comfortable than the pillows” Ianto grunted, patting him in the chest, “Now shh pillow, I’m trying to sleep”

“Whatever you say” Jack gladly subjected himself to Ianto’s grasp, playing his roll of pillow perfectly even if he did say so himself. He had to admit it was nice to be on the receiving end of a clingy hug for once. Usually it was him clinging to Ianto with his ‘octopus arms’ as he liked to call them, he could get used to the role reversal.


	29. The Other Shoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only a short one, had to reread everything I’d posted to catch myself up it’s been so long. Should be back to regular posting now

Ianto was scared to say anything lest he jinx it but things were going great, he’d been making good progress with Dr Gellar, he and Jack had never been closer and the rift hadn’t tried to kill them all in over two weeks now. All in all, Ianto was just waiting for the other shoe to drop and he hated that he was right in his apprehension.

Jack had taken the girls out on a routine retrial when Owen called him down to the medbay, sounding both a little confused and intrigued, “Ianto, I need a blood sample” he glanced up from his screen as his patient stopped by the top of the stairs, “Quick as you like mate”

Frowning, Ianto descended the steps slowly, “Why do you want a blood sample?” He wasn’t overly fond of needles, much less so when he didn’t know why he was about to be stabbed by one and Owen had taken a sample from him recently anyway, why would he need another so soon?

“I just need to check something to do with your cellular gen-” Owen cut himself off and tried to explain in a more accessible manner, “I just need to examine a fresh sample of your blood to assess the health of the cells”

Having noticed Owen dumbed down what he meant because he thought he couldn’t keep up, Ianto crossed his arms stubbornly, “I’m not an idiot, what are you looking for?”

“Nothing,” Owen pulled a face, “Well, not nothing but I don’t know yet okay? I’ve just noticed some skewed results and need to follow up on them.” He prepped the needle and approached him cautiously, “It could just be an error on the system but better safe than sorry, right?”

He wasn’t wrong, “Yeah, alright” Ianto held his arm out and let him do what he needed to do, “Do you…” he couldn’t help himself, he had to know, “Do you think it’s something serious? If it’s not an error on the system?”

Owen took his time replying but Ianto could be patient because he knew the medic wasn’t about to feed him a barrel full of lies and placations, “No,” he eventually settled on as he pressed a cotton bud against Ianto’s bleeding arm, “I haven’t spotted anything that could indicate you getting ill, but I’d still rather check”

“Of course,” Ianto took over the duty of holding the cotton bud as Owen went to go do his own thing, catching him just before he dove in at the deep end, “Owen? Don’t mention this to Jack, will you? He’d only worry and make things ten times harder”

“My lips are sealed” He promised, miming throwing away the key as the cog wheel started to roll open, klaxons sounding loudly signalling the teams return, “I’ll get back to you with my results, and Ianto? It’s really nothing to worry about”

-

Pushing the whole thing with Owen to the back of his mind, Ianto decided it was about time to follow up on his own little project. He’d bought a camera off the internet with a little help from Toshiko and he’d been meaning to ask her to show him how it worked, “Where are you going?” Jack raised an eyebrow as Ianto placed his coffee on his desk and started to back away, “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

Ianto glanced at his desk, no paperwork to file, the mug was on a coaster, “No?” He tilted his head to one side as he thought it over, taking a stab in the dark, “We ran out of biscuits yesterday, I can grab more on the way home later”

Jack huffed and pointed dramatically at his own face, “My kiss?”

Looking over his shoulder to make sure the team hadn’t heard, Ianto fidgeted slightly from foot to foot, “We’re at work” he watched as Jack opened his mouth, no doubt about to go off on one about how life was short, and how he should live in the moment, taking every opportunity he could get, blar blar blar and decided to just play along, “Here” he darted forward and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, probably not what Jack had been asking for but it shut him up none the less, “Now, I’ve got to go talk with Toshiko. Drink your coffee and,” he gave him a pointed look, feeling a hint of pride, “pick your jaw up off the floor”

Jack watched him walk away with a smitten sigh, leaning across his desk to try and catch one last glimpse of him before he left his line of sight completely. God, he loved that man.

“Ianto,” Tosh stopped what she was doing at her computer when he came over holding a small package, “what’s in the box?”

“My camera, the one you helped me pick out” he set it on her desk a little sheepishly, no matter how many times she told him she was happy to help he still felt a little strange asking her to explain things to him, “I was wondering if you could show me how it worked please?”

Smiling sweetly, she nodded, “Of course” it felt like ages since the two of them had done something other than work together, he’d gotten a lot closer with Gwen since he came back and her relationship with Beth had gotten more intense so they hadn’t had much time for one another, “It’s fairly simple, this button turns it on” she showed him, taking him through all the settings, “Record, for videos and just press this button for taking a picture. You can access the memory here and if you plug it into one of the computers you can transfer them across”

“Thanks” Ianto tried it on his own, taking a quick trail picture of Toshiko and found that it was rather simple, “I thought it would be more complicated, this will do nicely”

Tosh looked down at the picture of herself and was thankful he’d gotten her better side, “New hobby is it?”

“Something like that,” Ianto put the camera back in it’s box and scratched the back of his neck, “I want to make a… portfolio of sorts”

“Sounds like fun!” Tosh enthused, “Maybe I could help?”

Well this was awkward, “It’s more of a solo project -for Jack, but thank you for the offer Toshiko, it means a lot” Ianto wasn’t sure what it was he said that made her laugh under her breath with a colourful blush rising up on her cheeks but if it meant she wouldn’t ask again it worked for him.


	30. Music

The chance to play around with his camera was dashed however when the a rift alert came in, it was a simple retrieval but it was all hands on deck. Jack tasked him with assisting Toshiko on coms in the hub while he took Gwen and Owen out to do a snatch and grab of the device that had washed up not far from their base on the bay. He wasn’t much help as Tosh could do her job blindfolded but he got his moment to shine when the team came back covered head to toe in mud and rain with the device in question safely secured in a lockbox, “Let me at it” Ianto grinned as Jack dumped the box on his desk, while he might not be first choice for missions he was rather good at the research and clean up after.

Jack told him regularly how strange he found it that Ianto could take apart a 34th century blaster but the electric kettle had taken him three days to safely handle without supervision. Ianto told him just as often where he could shove his opinion.

“It’s not dangerous, have fun” Jack dropped a quick kiss on the top of his head before walking away, reassured in the knowledge that the device wouldn’t harm his lover, he knew exactly what it was and couldn't wait to see what Ianto thought.

“Hmm” Ianto handled the small metallic object carefully, noting with interest that it had several tubes on the side, possibly for fuel? Jack had told him it wasn’t dangerous though so he could assume it wasn’t a weapon and if he was supposed to have fun with it then it probably wasn’t a paper weight either, “Toshiko,” he called over his shoulder as he turned the device over in his hands, “do you have that scanner Owen was fiddling about with? I want to check for any interior mechanics”

“It’s somewhere around here” he heard her moving things around on her desk before making a sound of satisfaction and joining him by his desk, “Here you are, any idea what it is?”

Weighing the metal in one hand as he took the scanner in the other, he spared her a small smile, “Give me a chance, I’ve only been at it two minutes”

“Well, let me know what you find” Tosh told him before leaving him to do his thing, he was one of the best after all.

Jack watched in his office in fresh clothes as Ianto put the small device through a series of tests, a grin on his face as he saw his lover enjoy his work again. He only wished he could bring him harmless little puzzles like this more often, not everything out there in the universe wanted to kill them, some of it was beautiful. Of course none of it held a candle to Ianto, Jack had seen supernovas, whole galaxies teeming with life, meteors dancing across alien skies and mountains made of diamonds yet Ianto was the most beautiful thing his eyes had ever had the privilege of drinking in.

It didn’t take him long to figure it out, Jack knew it wouldn’t but it was still a pleasure to see the pride and joy light up his lovers face, “Jack!” He called out with a wide smile, “It’s an instrument?”

Ianto was cradling the instrument in his hands, his deft fingers gently stroking the surface as eerie musical notes sang underneath them, “Got it in one” he praised as he joined him in the main hub, the others gathering round to take a look, “It’s a long way from home, three and a half centuries early I’d say”

Ianto smiled down at the instrument, mind teeming with questions, “What’s it called? Where’s it from?” And more importantly, “Can you play?” Oh he hoped he could play.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to blow my own trumpet” Jack glared playfully at Owen when he snorted across from him, “Something you’d like to add Owen?”

“You, trying to be modest” the medic snorted again, clearly teasing, “I think I should check outside to see if pigs are flying”

Ianto just ignored him, handing Jack the instrument with pleading eyes, “Jack?”

Who could say no to that face? Wide blue eyes looking up at him with so much hope and love, he didn't know what he’d done to deserve it but he wasn't going to question it. Jack took the instrument and racked his brain for a simple tune he wasn’t likely to mess up, deciding on a song and letting muscle memory take over. He’d had a similar model during his time at the Agency, it was like riding a bike, “It’s called a Sparmonica” he informed the team as he played the old love song, or rather the love song that had yet to be written.

“Hang on, a _Sparmonica_?” Gwen smirked, “A Space Harmonica?”

“It’s nothing like a harmonica” Ianto defended as he enjoyed the eerie notes coming from the instrument, impressed with the skill Jack was displaying. Even after all this time he could still completely blindside him with the most wonderful things, “It’s beautiful”

“Yeah,” Jack looked at him as he finished the melody with a flourish, “it is” he wasn’t talking about the song and if the slight burning of his ears was anything to go by, Ianto caught his drift, “beautiful”

-

_“So who can you trust to transport your goods?”_ Rhys sang along with the radio the next morning as his advert played, a huge smile across his face, _“Harwood’s. You won’t be sorry with a Harwood’s lorry.”_

His phone went off almost immediately after, drowning out the radio as he pulled over to answer it, seeing on the display that it was the office calling, “Yeah, Ruth. Did you hear it?” He asked, his voice full of pride, “I wrote the last bit.” He paused as she gave him the bad news, his smile slipping off his face, “What sort of accident? Yeah, I know it.” He felt sick, “Yeah, I’ll get over there now”

He wasn’t allowed anywhere near the accident scene when he got there though, the Heddlu already there keeping him back, “Stay back, please.” An officer told him, as he got out of his car, “You’ll have to move your car” 

“I’m Rhys Williams,” he told the officer as he spied the lorry, it was on it’s side completely trashed with a car behind it on it’s roof, “manager of Harwood’s Haulage.” It was a disaster zone

The officer mistook his concern completely as he looked back at the lorry, “You can check on the vehicle later.” What was left of it anyway

“Bollocks to that, mate. I know the driver.” Rhys told him angrily, the fight leaving him though when he didn’t see Leighton anywhere, “Is he..?”

The officer gave him an apologetic look and Rhys though the was going to be sick, “Didn’t make it. Sorry. Can you give me some details, sir?”

“It’s Leighton.” None of this felt real, “Er, Leighton Reynolds.” 

How could this man be so blasé about all this? How could be be standing here talking about Leighton like he was nothing? The man had just died and he didn’t even care, “Next of kin?” 

“Yeah, he’s got a wife. Jen.” Shit, Jen, she was going to be inconsolable, “They just had a baby” 

“Do you know the address?” He was asked

“Yeah.” Rhys swallowed as he he paced slightly, “54 Keppoch Street, Roath. I give him a lift to football.” The officer made a note of it and thanked him, “Er, right.” He needed to keep his head, “I’m gonna need to arrange to move the lorry.”

“Not yet.” The officer stopped him, “There’s something suspicious in the back.”

Suspicious his arse, what the hell was he on about, “It’s just meat.” Rhys told him, “Leighton was taking it to the abattoir.”

“Yeah, well, whatever.” The officer didn’t care, nodding over at the flash SUV pulling up with a frown, “Torchwood want to look at it first.”

And that’s when Rhys saw something he couldn’t explain as people started getting out of the sleek black vehicle, what was his fiancé doing here and who the hell were Torchwood?


	31. Meat Feast

Jack hoped never to be put in the situation again where he had to climb through the back of an overturned lorry full of slowly decaying meat, it wasn’t exactly what he’d call a good start to his day, “Urgh, it stinks” he complained, looking out of the back of the van to see Ianto rolling his eyes and making notes on his PDA, “No bones.” He gave the nearest lump a kick as Owen joined him, “Just dense flesh.”

“It’s not like any flesh I’ve ever seen.” The medic took a closer look as Jack jumped out the back, breathing in the clean air, hoping the stench wouldn’t cling to his coat while Gwen took her turn to peek inside

“What is it?” She asked

“Well,” Jack told her seriously, “as there haven’t been any giant cow sightings, I suggest we take a sample back to the Hub.”

He couldn’t help but feel a little resentful for being called in today, after taking Ianto home yesterday they’d stayed up late into the night under the assumption they had a rare day off today but no such luck. Instead here they both were absolutely knackered and grouchy with the lack of caffeine in their respective systems, It’s not even as if they’d been doing anything strenuous the night before, they’d just stayed up talking. Simply chatting about everything and nothing, connecting in a way both men had missed as of late, they needed to make more time for one another. Between Torchwood, their relationship and what little social life they had outside of work something had to give and Jack knew what he’d be clinging onto if push came to shove.

As corny as it was Jack had fallen asleep last night feeling more connected to Ianto than he had in a long time. He never thought he’d see the day where he’d pass up on the chance of sex to spend an evening talking about his feelings instead. He wouldn’t change it for anything though.

Jack watched Gwen walk off to talk to one of the officers and took his chance to sidle up to Ianto, respecting his workplace boundaries and not wrapping an arm around his waist like he wanted to and instead settling for a friendly hand on the shoulder to get his attention, “Find out where the contents of the van came from yet?” 

“No,” Ianto sighed, disappointed with himself as he was bested by technology once again, “but it’s a Harwood’s lorry so they should know.”

Reappearing seemingly out of thin in, Gwen gave them both a surprised look, “Oh, that’s Rhys’ firm” she knew everything was about to go sideways as she saw Jack and Ianto share one of their Looks, it always amazed her that the two of them could have an entire conversation with just one glance and she had high hopes that Rhys and her would reach that point one day. As long as she managed to keep him out of this mess that is.

-

In the autopsy bay Owen was hard at work dissecting and analysing the sample they took from the crash site, so far he hadn’t had much luck narrowing down the search field of what it was but when Jack poked his head in he did have some news to share, “There is evidence of a vertebral column but its genetic make-up isn’t compatible with any known animal.”

“Any idea what it is?” Jack asked

If he did he would have led with it, wouldn’t he, “I’ll have to scan it. But whoever’s farming this meat knows it’s dodgy. See this?” He held up the so called documentation, “Official vet stamp, fit for human consumption. It’s fake.” He shook his head with a reluctantly impressed huff, “It’s good, but it’s fake.”

Jack gave him a swift nod before moving back into the main hub to keep the ball rolling, “Tosh, get onto the haulage firm. Find out where that meat is from and where it’s heading” he tapped his coms to activate his and Ianto’s private channel, “Ianto, found anything in the archives matching Owen’s descriptions?”

Nestled deeply between two stacks of files, Ianto sneezed from the dust, “Nothing as of yet, I’ll keep you posted” he’d have to remember to do a quick spring clean through here later as well, he could practically hear the dust surrounding him like white noise.

“Just bring your files up here,” Jack ignored the look Tosh was giving him and tried to make himself sound less needy, “The last thing we need is you getting sick down there, okay?”

Gwen waited for Jack to key off coms before approaching him with wide eyes, “Why does it have to be Rhys’ firm? It’s a bit too close to home.”

“Want to stand down?” Jack offered

“No, I want to find out what’s going on.” She crossed her arms stubbornly but quickly abandoned her stance as Ianto came up from the archives with his hands full of reports, “Need some help?” She asked, already walking over to him to take half the stack.

Gwen jumped slightly when Toshiko’s radio burst to life, _“Harwood’s. You won’t be sorry with a Harwood’s lorry.”_ Thankfully she hadn’t dropped any files

Bobbing his head, Ianto smiled at her, “Catchy.” She’d been so proud of Rhys when she told the team that he’d been part of the promotional campaign, if Ianto remembered correctly Gwen had told them he even wrote part of the jingle.

“Do you think the haulage firm are in on it, too?” Tosh directed at Gwen

“Rhys?” She shook her head, “No. He doesn’t know what goes in the vans. He just hires them out.”

Tosh pushed, “The driver must have seen it loaded.”

“That doesn’t implicate Rhys.” Gwen set Ianto’s files down loudly, making sure she got her point across, “He’s the most honest man I know.” There was no way Rhys was in on this, he was innocent and she’d prove it.

Thankfully, she always had a certain someone in her corner, “I think investigating Rhys would be a waste of our resources” Ianto spoke up, confident as he pleaded his case to Jack, “I’ve met him, know him quite well and he’s never given me any indication that he’d do something like this”

“What do you mean you’ve met him?” Jack felt a hot spike of jealously run through him, “How well do you know him? When was this? Why wasn’t I told?”

Not wanting to get into a domestic at work, Ianto could feel a flush of embarrassment climbing up his cheeks, “I’ve been round to Gwen’s for dinner a few times, can we talk about this later?” He didn’t want to air his dirty laundry about. It was bad enough that Gwen had felt the need to feed him when Jack was away, he didn’t want his partner to know just how useless he was without him.

Tosh, bless her soul, seeing that he desperately needed to change the topic of conversation, offered him an out but putting the attention back on Gwen, “Have you got his direct line?”

-

Rhys jumped as the phone as it rang, Ruth, his assistant answering it right away “Harwood’s Haulage. How may I help you?” She put her hand over the mouthpiece and whispered to Rhys, “It’s the police.”

Taking a deep breath, Rhys took the call, “Hello? Yeah, speaking. Yes, I’m aware of the accident” he shot Ruth a reassuring look as he was asked a series of questions, “It’s a firm is called Harries and Harries. They came to us about two months back.” He checked the paperwork in front of him, “It’s a weekly contract.”

In the hub, ignoring the daft smile Owen was giving her for using her fake phone voice, Tosh continued her line of questioning, “Are they licensed?”

Scoffing, Rhys tried not to feel insulted by the insinuation that he’d let his vehicles be hired out by anyone dodgy, “Yeah, of course they’re licensed.” Who did she think he was? He wasn’t an idiot

“Could you give me their address?” Tosh asked

And that’s when Rhys hit a bit of a snag, “There’s no address down here.” He admitted, shooting Ruth an angry look as she told him about the pick up point, “Sorry. All I’ve got is a service station on the A470, fifteen miles from Cardiff.”

“Do you have a contact number?”

And yet again he came up empty, “No, there’s no contact number, either.” Bloody brilliant that is

“Can you tell me where your driver took the meat?”

Finally, something he could answer, “Yes,” Rhys nodded even though the woman on the other end of the line couldn’t see him, “he was taking it to Caerwen Abattoir. It’s a processing plant. Just a general meat suppliers.”

“What time did the driver leave base?”

Double checking, Rhys read the time out, “Signed out at ten to one. Can I ask what this is about?”

“I can’t release that information, sir.” Tosh flipped Owen the bird as he sniggered at her back in the hub, “Thanks for your cooperation.” She never understood what he found so funny about her fake phone voice but all in all it’s not the worst thing he’s ever laughed at her for so she mostly ignores it.

“Yeah, but I’m the manager-” Rhys was cut off by the dial tone, having been hung up on, “Brilliant.”

Ruth worried her bottom lip, “Leighton was their regular. Apart from that first booking, they just went through him.”

“Yes,” Rhys threw the handheld back into it’s cradle, pissed beyond belief, “but now it looks like I’m hiding something, Ruth.”

-

In the hub, Ianto had moved on from the dead end files and was checking the traffic cameras. It took him a few minutes to get the hang of it but he was off like a rocket once he did, “Got him.” He tried not to sound too proud of himself as Jack came over, no doubt to check he actually had, “And there he is coming back forty minutes later.” he showed his partner, still a little annoyed with him about the disregard of their work boundaries but willing to let it go for the moment as they focused on the mission, “Let’s say it takes twenty minutes to load. We are talking a ten mile radius.”

“Jack!” It sounded like Owen had found something too down in his medical bay

“Go on,” Ianto gave him a little push as he checked his watch, “I’ve got to go up to the front desk to get the takeout soon anyway”

“Ianto,” Jack reached out to stop him and felt a pang of guilt when he swerved to avoid the contact, “We’re okay, right?”

“We’ll talk about this later, after work” Ianto told him pointedly before walking away, what Jack did wasn’t okay but they didn’t have time to get into it now. It was such a small thing really, Jack had just asked him a question but it had embarrassed him in front of the girls. He didn’t want to be seen as just Jack’s partner, he wanted to stand on his own merit and that was difficult when he was undermined like that.

Owen was waiting with the girls when Jack finally sloped over, “Right,” he started, “The scan shows it’s definitely alien meat.”

“Where the hell would they get it from?” Jack frowned, feeling mulish and tetchy

Tosh offered him an explanation, “If it’s going into the processing plant that means it’s going into pies, burgers, pasties, everything.”

Gwen felt sick, “That means people have been eating it for months.”

“Well, the DNA traces are stable.” Owen reassured them, “There are some signs of animal sedative, but no diseases or residues. My guess is it’s good to eat.”

“Would you eat it?” Gwen challenged him as Ianto came back through eh cog door armed with their food

“Pizza’s arrived.” He smiled in apology for interrupting, “I presumed it would be a late one.”

Owen looked at the pizza box’s with a sense of apprehension, “What did you get me?”

“Your usual.” Ianto looked down at the box as well, wondering what he’d done wrong this time, “Meat Feast.”

Owen pulled a slightly disgusted face and sighed, “Lovely”


	32. Accompany me to the Slaughterhouse?

Later, while Owen was still picking the meat off his pizza with thinly veiled disgust, Ianto had tucked perhaps the most ridiculous looking napkin into the collar of his shirt while he consumed his own. Jack would normally sidle up next to him and make a cute comment about it, lightly teasing the man he loved about his adorable little quirks but from the look he was getting from the other man, he could safely assume he wasn’t welcome in his personal space right now. He hoped this tiff wouldn’t last long between them, while Ianto would never let it affect their working relationship Jack knew things would be tense at home once the work was done. He wondered if he was looking at a night in the spare room or sleeping with their backs turned as Ianto refused to talk about it. Neither as very promising to be honest.

“I’ve narrowed it down to three potential areas.” Ianto paused to take a small bite of his pizza as the team hung onto his every word, “Only one warehouse is unoccupied. It’s just outside Merthyr.” 

Owen nodded, pushing his box of pizza away, “Makes sense, who knows what goes on there?”

“We’ve got to shut the operation down,” Jack took charge, “neutralise whoever’s doing this and identify the alien meat. Tosh and Ianto, you two can coordinate.”

Ianto and Toshiko shared a silent look and Jack felt unease coil in his stomach as they seemed to communicate without words, that used to be their thing after all. Tosh was just opening her mouth to say something with Gwen’s phone when off, interrupting her, “I have to slip home and check on Rhys first.” She told him, reading the text her fiancé had sent

“Good idea.” Jack nodded, “Find out how much he knows.”

But Gwen barely paused as she grabbed her bag, giving him a look, “That’s not what I meant.” And left without another word leaving Toshiko the perfect opening to insert herself and her opinion.

“Jack,” she sounded firm, like what she had to say had already been decided, “You know as well as I do that you need as many of us in the field with you as can be spared, you don’t know what we’re walking into and only one person needs to say behind to coordinate”

He did not like where this was going, “Fine, Ianto stays, you can come with”

Bristling, Ianto’s eyes bored into him, “I think we can both agree sir that Toshiko is far better suited to coordinating than I am, I know you think my field experience is lacking but I can operate a stun gun just fine, let’s not forget just how much training I've had with rifles and bayonets as well” he wasn’t backing down this time, he’d just spent a whole year behind downtrodden and living in literal hell, he’d like to see something in that warehouse that _could_ turn his stomach after everything else he’d seen, “Unless you want to be sent in the complete wrong direction I strongly advise you to bring me out into the field as well. I can be of some use believe it or not”

Owen and Tosh fidgeted slightly in their seats, uncomfortable as mum and dad started fighting, “You’re staying here Ianto, I won’t have you in the field, it’s too dangerous-”

“What about Owen and Gwen? Is it too dangerous for them?” Ianto cut him off, not even looking sorry for it as he continued, “Or do you just not trust my abilities?” Before he never would have dared speak so openly and disregard direct orders but it was safe to say he wasn’t thinking clearly. For one moment since everything went to shit, Ianto allowed his previous tightly reigned in rage to take over and make a point. He was done holding it all inside even if he knew that he’d regret his outburst later.

“It’s not that and you know it” Jack said in a hushed voice, very aware that Owen and Tosh were listening to every word, “I can’t risk you in the field, you know why”

If Ianto weren’t already annoyed with Jack he might have let that slide but with a simmering rage burning just below the surface, he went off like a firework, “I don’t think I do sir, are you really willing to risk Owen and Gwen’s lives by being a man down just because you want to cuckoo me in bubble wrap? At least back in the day you let me do something, now I’m nothing more than your butler” he crossed his arms and softened his glare, “I can be useful Jack, let me be useful”

Jaw clenched, stance rigid, Jack nodded once and swiftly made his dramatic exit, throwing his pizza back on the table as he went, appetite lost. That wasn’t how he’d wanted things to go down.

-

“Hiya.” Gwen shut the door behind her as she entered her flat, “I got your message.” She approached Rhys, giving him a quick once over, “Are you all right?” 

“Er, bit of a tough day.” He shook his head, “Had an accident at work. One of our lorries crashed.”

Oh how she hated the lying, how was it that she was the only one who couldn’t tell her partner what she actually did for a living? She supposed since Toshiko’s girlfriend was an alien and Owen’s was a woman from the previous century their knowledge of the situation could be explained -she wasn’t even going to touch on Jack and Ianto’s relationship as it spoke for itself- but it still smarted that she wasn’t allowed to tell Rhys, “Anyone hurt?” Maybe she should bring it up with Jack again, she hadn’t asked since he and Ianto both got back from their little trips, maybe the answer would be different this time. 

“Leighton.” Rhys was telling her, “One of my drivers died, he was only twenty four.”

Gwen tried to comfort him, “Were you close?”

“For God’s sake, Gwen, you met him.” He snapped before taking a deep breath and carrying on in a calmer tone, “Small, dark hair, played five a side with me.”

“Sorry. I can’t,” Gwen rubbed her forehead, “I can’t place him.”

Rhys gave her a strange look but Gwen didn’t seem to notice, “Well, then I hear that the, er, that the police have taken the meat out the back of the van.” He asked, “You any idea why?”

“How would I know?” She deflected

Rhys raised an eyebrow, “You work for them?”

Shit, yes, she worked for them, “I don’t deal in traffic accidents, so…” she trailed off, looking apologetic as the cover sounded weak even to her own ears.

“Well,” Rhys seemed to let it go, for which she was greatful, “they phoned the office and they asked loads of questions. Thing is, all I do is hire out the lorries, so I-”

She cut him off suddenly, “Then there’s nothing for you to worry about, is there?”

“Must be something dodgy going on, though.” He pressed, waiting for her to crack and own up but she never did

“If there was, you weren’t to know,” she asked him, “were you?”

“No,” He denied, “of course not.”

“No.” Gwen said simply before checking her watch, “I wish I didn’t have to go back to work now.” She wanted nothing more than to curl up on the sofa with Rhys and tell him everything, it was only fair but she just couldn’t.

Rhys sighed, “Hardly worth you coming home.”

And that wouldn’t do, she would not see him looking so rejected, not while she was around, “Yes, it was. To see you.” She kissed him, “I’m sorry. I’ll see you later. Go and have a pint. Call Daf.”

“Yeah.” He didn’t sound very enthusiastic, “Yeah. Yeah, maybe I will.”

-

Jack and Owen went ahead first, leaving Ianto with strict orders to bring Gwen once she got back and to stay out of sight and if Jack seemed a little more pissy than usual Ianto couldn’t bring himself to care. It was about time his partner started treating him with the respect he deserved at work, sure field work wasn’t his favourite thing to do but when the team needed him he wasn’t going to back down and hide away in the archives like a scared child. He’d seen and done worse than break into a warehouse, he could handle this and would appreciate it if Jack could stop treating him like he was made of glass. He was ready, he could prove he still had what it takes, even after the last year.

He was fine.

Little did he know as he stepped off the invisible lift to escort Gwen to the car, her fiancé was watching with wide eyes from his car, “Like I thought.” She was telling Ianto, “He has no idea what’s going on.”

Ianto nodded and offered her his arm, “Would you care to accompany me to the slaughterhouse?”

She took it with a smile, “It would be my pleasure, you know just what to say to a woman to have her swooning, y’know?” Rhys watched them walk away laughing and gritted his teeth as he decided to follow. He was going to get to the bottom of this if it killed him.

Ianto and Gwen eventually led him to the industrial estate, it was just a shame he could hear what they were saying on coms, “Jack, Owen, we’re on our way.” Gwen checking in with them over the SUV’s coms system, “How are things looking at the slaughterhouse? Are you in position?”

There was a brief silence before Owen’s voice filtered back to them, “Yeah, it’s all quiet here. There’s a deserted access road to the side. We won’t get noticed. I’ll direct you in.”

“Owen, nearly there.” Ianto keyed him in as he got ready to turn a corner

“Take the second turning.” Owen was directing him, “Park on the left. No one will see the car there. There’s a main entrance at the front. It’s the only one open. The rest are padlocked and alarmed.”

Rhys lost the SUV as they turned a corner and parked somewhere else where he hoped he wouldn’t be seen, spying two men walk around the corner, one dressed in World War Two getup and the other in simple street clothes. Accomplices maybe? Or fancy dress gone wrong.

“How many are in there?” Ianto asked as he and Gwen parked up, getting out of the SUV

“It’s difficult to tell,” Jack’s voice finally graced them but he didn’t sound too thrilled, “there are no windows”

Tosh spoke directly to Ianto, via their private channel,“I’ve got blueprints of the warehouse. The stock has to be in the central area. Having fun?”

Ignoring Gwen’s questioning look, Ianto huffed and fought back a smile, “You don’t know what you’re missing.”

“According to the sensor, there’s a heat signature across the entire building.” Owen was back, “is it just me or is that a lot of meat?”

Off to the side, Rhys pulled out his phone and called Gwen, watching as she checked the number, “Answer the phone, Gwen.” But she declined it

Jack gave the building another quick look over before giving out his orders, “Owen and I will take the sides, Gwen, Ianto man the front, don’t let anyone in or out and do not engage unless necessary” he couldn’t lose Ianto, “We don’t want any casualties. We stun gun whoever’s in there and put a stop to what they’re doing.” He shared a look with Owen and nodded, “Let’s go.”

Around the other side of the building, Ianto grabbed Gwen’s arm as he spotted someone round the corner, “Hang on,” he pulled her to the side so they were out of view, “There’s someone there.” Only when the man turned around Ianto felt the bottom of his stomach fall out, this wasn’t good, this wasn’t very good at all

“It’s Rhys.” Gwen sounded just about as shocked as Ianto felt, if not more, “It’s Rhys,” she repeated herself, completely blind sided as she took the words right out of Ianto’s mouth, “What’s he doing here?”


	33. Aliens, in Cardiff?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it’s been a while, oops? This one has been nearly impossible to write lately, every time I sat down to write I ended up deleting it almost immediately because I didn’t like how it was going. But it’s been ages and I think I just need to push forward so here’s a new chapter. I hope you like it.

“He must be in on it,” Ianto didn’t like the idea but the evidence was staring them right in the face as a car pulled up next to Gwen’s fiancé and the men shared words, “Gwen-”

She obviously had a different stand point, “Never.” She refused to believe what she was seeing, there was no way Rhys would ever get mixed up in something like this. He didn’t even like killing spiders, how could someone as loving and honest as him ever get involved with these thugs? The answer was clear, he hadn’t, this was all some big misunderstanding, “No Ianto”

“How else do you explain that?” Ianto asked, pointing to where Rhys was being walked inside by the others, he didn’t want it to be true either, hadn’t he defended the man to Jack? But he was hard pressed to come up with another explanation, “Jack, Owen, stand down.” He spoke into coms, “We have a situation”

Gwen shook her head, “He told me he didn’t know what was going on.” Her eyes were pleading with him and Ianto felt himself start to crumble, “He wouldn’t lie to me.”

And the thing is, he wouldn’t. Ianto knew Rhys, not as well as Gwen obviously but he knew the man. He’d been over plenty of times for dinner and had even gone out for a drink with him at Gwen’s insistence. He wasn’t the sort of man to do something like this and yet here he was, “Gwen I- no!” He made a grab for her as she tried to run out after him, “Stop”

“There’s something wrong. There has to be.” She tried to shrug him off but Ianto pulled her back out of sight, “I just have to get him out.”

As she struggled against him, Ianto saw a familiar glint in her eye. The same glint that had been in his when he went to rescue Jack, the need to protect a loved one was powerful and he knew how dangerous it could make a person so he had to tread lightly, “What, by charging in there? What then?” He put his hands up and took a step back, giving her a chance, “I don’t know what’s going on either Gwen but there has to be a logical explanation, yeah? Use your head, we can figure this out but storming in there is only going to get you killed”

“So what? What do we do instead?” Gwen crossed her arms, itching to run to Rhys’ side

“We wait for him to come out, ask him” Ianto put a comforting hand on her shoulder, “You know it’s our best option right now” and she did, with a sigh she slumped her shoulders and nodded reluctantly, Ianto was right, as per usual.

-

Rhys had never been interrogated before, if you don’t count the time Gwen tried to weasel certain information concerning his mothers real opinion of her out of him but this was very different. For one all the men in the room were fully clothed and it wasn’t half as pleasant, “Who sent you?” Dale demanded, “Come on. Don’t waste our time.”

“No one sent me.” Rhys had to think quickly else he’d find himself so far down shit creek it didn’t even matter if he had a paddle or not, “I er, I came on my own. I’m looking for the boss.”

The younger man got up in his face, “You’re looking at him.”

The intimidation tactic didn’t last long though as Dale burst his brothers bubble, “Ignore my little brother.”

Great, the last thing Rhys wanted to be caught between was another family row, he had his own issues to deal with he didn’t have time to listen to theirs, “I’m, er I’m from Harwood’s.” He swallowed nervously, “Harwood’s Haulage. Leighton. Er, Leighton, your driver, he er, well, he sort of told me what was going on, like-”

“Mouthy git. He was paid to keep quiet.” Rhys was interrupted

He filled them in as Dale told his brother to shut up, “Yeah, well, he’s dead.” What was Leighton doing getting messed up in all this, “Lorry crashed.”

“With the goods inside?” Greg, the little brother, asked with wide eyes

Dale looked equally as panicked and Rhys saw some wiggle room as they began to hound him again, “What happened to the meat?” He demanded, “Did anyone see the meat?”

“No, no, no. I er, I picked it all up and took it all to be incinerated.” He took his chance, “You see, er, I was hoping maybe I could pick up from where he left off, boys?” He preyed to god he hadn’t just made the biggest mistake of his life.

“How do we know you won’t report us?”

Rhys raised an eyebrow, “I’m here, aren’t I?”

Dale stared at him calculatingly, “So what exactly did he tell you?”

“Everything. You know,” he bluffed, “that you were cleaning up old meat.”

“Oh, it’s a lot bigger than that.”

-

Outside the warehouse Ianto and Gwen watched Rhys come out and shake hands with Dale, both still confused and not wanting to accept what was in front of them, “I don’t get it,” Ianto thought himself a good judge of character, it wasn’t often he read someone this wrong, “He didn’t say anything to you?”

“Not a word” Gwen bit her lip as Rhys got into his car and drove away

He nodded back to the SUV, “Come on, let’s go.” Once safely inside the vehicle and out of sight, Ianto relayed everything back to Owen and agreed to regroup back in the hub to come up with a new plan, only when Gwen looked out of the window, they weren’t heading back to the Hub

“Ianto?” She glanced over at him and saw he looked indecisive, “Where are we going?”

Not sure if he was doing the right thing, Ianto cleared his throat, “Taking a detour, I know what Jack’s going to say when we get back to the hub and since it was Owen who told us to go back I’m not technically disobeying orders since I outrank him-”

“Where are we going?” She asked again, not impolitely as she smiled, she rather liked rebellious Ianto.

“To get answers,” Ianto took a left turn and Gwen recognised they were only a few minutes away from her flat, “I understand if you’d rather go back to the hub but we both know Jack’s methods of obtaining information aren’t the best for everyone involved when he’s… emotional” he hesitated, “Rhys is your fiancé and a good man, I think we should give him the chance to explain himself without resorting to extremes measures” the ‘like Beth’ went unsaid but Gwen heard it loud and clear.

They had handled that situation poorly and Ianto still had the odd nightmare about it, the sick feeling deep down, nestled in his soul, whenever he thought about what they’d done. He wouldn’t allow Rhys to go through the same mistreatment. Tosh had told him he had brought a darkness back with him when he returned and Ianto refused to let it overtake him.

He could do this, give Rhys a fair chance to explain himself, it was the right thing to do.

“Okay,” Gwen seemed to be onboard, “Sounds like a plan,” she gave him a thankful smile, once again thinking how glad she was to have his unwavering support, “thank you Ianto” no wonder Jack would move heaven on earth for him, Gwen was half in love with Ianto herself.

The idea had seemed good at the time, however when Ianto followed Gwen into her flat he realised immediately that he should have stayed in the car. Rhys was having a beer when they opened the door and Ianto had all of three seconds to try, and fail, to extract himself before he was caught up in the middle of a domestic he had wanted to avoid at all costs.

Gwen didn’t help her case by starting with a shouted accusation, “What were you doing in that warehouse?!”

“You lied to me. You were at that crash.” Rhys shouted back, “Stop pissing me around, Gwen. You’re so used to lying and fobbing me off, like the idiot I obviously am.” He paused to spare Ianto a glance but he was soon forgotten as the two of them descended into a shouting match. He supposed he should be grateful he and Jack never got like this, their arguments were more stilted. Cold silences and old grudges, no less explosive than this but they were a lot less loud.

Gwen eventually took a deep breath, remembering their guest, and spoke at a less violent level, “There’s stuff you don’t understand, Rhys.”

“Oh, of course not. I’m just a big, dumb animal, aren’t I?” He ranted, “I mean, what’s so secret you can’t even tell your own fiancé, eh? In fact, why are you marrying me, Gwen, eh? What am I, just a habit you can’t be arsed to break?”

Even Ianto had to wince at that as Gwen gasped, “No!” Was it not obvious Gwen loved him more than the earth itself?

Rhys threw his arms out wide, “Then tell the truth!”

“All right!” She snapped, “All right. My job, the special ops thing -it’s a lie, a cover story.” It’s not as if telling him the truth now could make things any worse. What did she have left to lose?

While Ianto understood Rhys’ anger he couldn’t condone the tone he was using, if he didn’t think Gwen could handle herself he would have stepped in already, “Thank you. At last! God, what’s that taken? About a year? That’s one lie down. How many more have we got to deal with, eh?” He asked, “Is there anything in your life that’s actually based on truth?”

“You think I enjoy keeping all this stuff to myself?” She shot back, getting emotional and while Ianto didn’t want to call attention to himself, he did take a step towards his teammate, letting her know he was here if and when she needed him

Rhys’ eyes flickered to Ianto and his hackles visibly rose, “Then why did you?”

“Because I’m trying to protect you!” Gwen spat, “Have you ever stopped to think about that? No. No. Because you prefer to blunder in without thinking or looking. Good old ham fisted Rhys. His heart, his heart is in the right place but his brain is a million miles fucking back.”

“Come on, let’s have it all, shall we?” Rhys demanded as Ianto tried to fade into the background unsuccessfully, “What exactly do I need protecting from?”

Gwen clenched her fists together and told him, completely serious, “I catch aliens.”

Her fiancé didn’t seem to appreciate her honesty, “Piss off.”

“No, you piss off” oh great, Ianto thought to himself, we’ve reached the emotional maturity of toddlers

Rhys shook his head, “If you’re not going to take it seriously-”

Slumping down onto a chair, Gwen let go of her anger and sighed, “This is why I couldn’t tell you, because I hunt down aliens and I scavenge the stuff they leave behind, and sometimes I don’t believe it myself.”

“What’s got into you? Have you been brainwashed?” Rhys was looking for answers he wasn’t going to get, “Is that it, yeah? Is that what’s happened? Because you are talking high grade shit here.”

“Every word is the truth. Rhys, the things I have seen.” She spoke from the heart, “The times I have wanted to tell you.”

Ianto waited with bated breath as Rhys seemed to consider what he was being told, “Aliens?” He asked incredulously, “In Cardiff?” 

When Gwen hung her head and didn’t say anything else, Ianto cleared his throat and tried not to show that he was slightly intimidated by Rhys’ stature when the man turned to him with a scowl, “Would now be a good time to mention I fought in World War Two?”


	34. Homoerotic

“Would now be a good time to mention I fought in World War Two?” Ianto asked, watching as Rhys stalled out for a moment, looking him up and down critically before calling bullshit

“Are you in on this as well? Did he trick you into this Gwen?” Rhys was throwing accusations left right and centre, Ianto was most amused by the insinuation he’d indoctrinated Gwen into some sort of cult but they really didn’t have a lot of time, “Bloody World War Two soldier my arse, what lies has he been feeding you Gwen?”

“Rhys,” Ianto smiled politely at him even if he wanted to shake the man, “Perhaps you’d like to come see our base of operations? Then you’ll see Gwen is telling you the truth, besides we have a few questions to ask you about what you saw inside that warehouse this afternoon if you don’t mind” he would not drag Rhys into the hub against his will, Ianto really didn’t want another Beth scenario on his hands.

“Well,” Rhys took a second to think about it before nodding, “Yeah actually, I would.” The sooner he saw this was all rubbish teh sooner he could get Gwen the help she so clearly needed.

Perfect, Ianto gave Gwen a Look, “Alright then, Gwen why don’t you bring Rhys in through the visitors entrance while I go ahead and let the team know what’s happening?”

“Sounds good to me Ianto, we’ll see you in a bit” Gwen gave his arm a quick squeeze before he left, communicating her gratitude for his help.

-

“It was only a matter of time,” Owen sipped his water as the team minus Gwen and Jack gathered round the ancient hub sofa, “The fiancé finding out I mean”

Ianto nodded along with him, he hadn’t wanted to share all the nitty gritty details about the domestic he’d witnessed but they’d all had questions when he came back without Gwen. Jack wasn't pleased they were bringing Rhys in, still being a child over the fact he’d been round to dinner. That was going to be fun not talking about later, Ianto was already dreading when the case was over because he knew his partner was going to insist they _talk_ about everything and he just wanted to ignore it instead, “You’re right,” he admitted, “I mean he was the only one who didn’t know after all. You’ve got Dianne, and Tosh you have Beth.” Ianto reasoned, “Rhys was bound to find out eventually”

“You’re not wrong,” Toshiko acknowledged, “It still could have been under better circumstances though”

Tilting his head to one side, Ianto shrugged, “I don’t think there’s ever a perfect moment to tell your significant other you catch aliens for a living but this is already going better than Jack’s attempt at telling me”

“You were mauled by a Weevil right?” Owen checked, shaking his head with Ianto confirmed it. Bloody idiot’s, the both of them. How Ianto and Jack had survived this long with their complete and utter lack of self preservation was beyond him.

“Oh, here we go” Tosh nodded up at the invisible lift as it started to descend, Jack making his way down from the greenhouse as well so he could greet his guest at the bottom of the lift, “Place your bets now boys, how long till the pissing contest starts”

Owen laughed, claiming before the five minute mark while Ianto just frowned at them both, “Hey!” He complained, “Jack’s not that bad,” he couldn’t keep a straight face for long though as Tosh raised an eyebrow at him, forcing him to concede, “Ten minutes”

“Wow!” they heard Rhys exclaim, breaking up the chatter, “Who’d have thought this was here?” He ducked, laughing loudly as Myfanwy swooped overhead, “Oh! That looked so real.”

“It was real.” Gwen was telling him as they reached the bottom

Rhys shook his head, “They’re extinct, Gwen.”

“Oh, boy.” Gwen sighed as the lift came to a stop and Jack stepped forward

Stepping off the lift, Rhys was met with a new man who looked every inch the boss of this place, self sure and cocky as he introduced himself, “In your timeline, yes. Captain Jack Harkness. Thanks for dropping in, Rhys.”

“This is the rest of the team.” Gwen gestured, “Owen and Toshiko. You already know Ianto.”

Rhys gave Ianto a brief nod of hello before turning to the rest of the team, “Pleased to meet you.”

“Welcome to our headquarters.” Jack reached out to shake Rhys’ hand and took a few quick steps back once their greetings were over, casting an eye over his assembled team, a tad annoyed they were all spread out and not bunched together in a united front but what was he gonna do?

“It’s a bit bigger than mine.” Rhys laughed awkwardly while the whole team stood around not sure what to say or how to respond. Jack, of course, grinned and turned back to Ianto to give him a flirty wink as he chuckled to himself, slightly disappointed when his lover looked away almost immediately, not amused “So,” Rhys tried again, “Gwen tells me you catch aliens.”

Jack turned back and nodded, “That’s right”

Up on a raised level, Owen spoke down to Rhys, leaning against a railing, “There’s a Rift through space and time runs through Cardiff, Rhys, and stuff slips in from other timelines and planets, and it’s our job to monitor it.”

“Are you sure they’re not some kind of weird cult?” Rhys double checked with his fiancé

Gwen didn’t dignify the question with a response, “You saw that alien in the warehouse.” She urged him, “Go on.”

“What did you see?” Jack asked, he might not like it but Rhys had information they needed and Ianto had told him they weren’t to use the mind probe under any circumstance 

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Rhys described what he’d seen, “It was like this huge, shapeless beast, filling the space.” He told them, “Like a mound of flesh.”

Listening intently, Toshiko drew her conclusions, “So it’s one massive entity as opposed to several organisms.”

“The latest tests reveal high levels of chloride, so it probably lives in the water.” Owen reasoned, piecing their fragments of information together as he went, “I reckon it came through the Rift, into the sea and its beached itself.” 

Staying where he was, Jack looked down at his feet with resignation, “Like a giant alien manatee.” The poor thing had never stood a chance.

Something wasn’t adding up though, Ianto had seen Owen’s mock ups of what the creature supposedly looked like and after visiting the warehouse he couldn’t say it made sense, “But how did they get it there?” He asked, “That warehouse must be fifty metres long.”

“Maybe it was smaller when they found it,” Rhys suggested, “because they said it’s growing.”

Eyes snapping up, Jack couldn’t believe what he’d heard, “It’s not dead?”

“No, it’s breathing.” Rhys explained, “Its eye opened.”

“So the protein chains regenerate despite the mutilation.” Owen felt sick, what they were doing was disgusting, “So not only is it replenishing its own flesh but it’s increasing it, giving them a brand new meat supply.”

“It could last them for years, then.” Toshiko’s eyes widened at the thought, “If we understood how it worked, we could feed the world.”

Ianto saw the tense look of Jack’s shoulders, what Tosh was implying, while a cure for world hunger, was also deeply unsettling and immoral. Jack could grow his limbs back as well, would she suggest cutting him up and using him as a meat supply? Just because they were dealing with an alien it didn’t mean the creature deserved to be tortured.

Oh great, Ianto flinched as that train of thought led him down a dark path, echoes of his time on the Valiant shoving their way to the front of his mind. He needed a distraction, he needed to infuse some humour into the conversation and focus on something else, “We could release a single.” He suggested, thankful when Owen snorted and moved the conversation on so he could distract himself

“Before we get ahead of ourselves, we’re talking about dodgy pies in Merthyr, okay?” Owen crossed his arms, “And the fact that they’re cutting it up alive-”

“Which we could have put a stop to already if it wasn’t for you.” Jack interrupted, frowning at Rhys who immediately got defensive and slightly aggressive 

“I thought my fiancé was in danger.” The Welshman defended himself

“Well, Mr Caveman, she wasn’t.” Jack aggravated their guest, “She can handle herself-“

Gwen tried to diffuse the situation but it was no good, “Jack-” 

Her boss just steamrolled right over her, “All you did tonight was mess things up.” He was practically growling now, “Now we have to think of a way to get back in and, thanks to you, they’ll have tightened security.”

“Well,” Rhys stepped forward, moving closer to Jack as he puffed out his chest, “if you stopped and asked me what I saw in there, instead of showing off around the place-”

Jack interrupted him to check in with Ianto, “Do I show off? 

When wasn’t he? Ianto decided he’d had enough of domestics for one day and gave a half hearted shrug, “Just a bit.”

Rhys carried on like he hadn’t just been interrupted, getting closer and closer to Jack as he spoke, “You’d know I got out by telling them I wanted a job as a delivery boy. So rather than cock things up, I’ve found you a way to get in.” He got in Jack’s face, “But if you can’t handle that, big boy, then you can stuff it.”

Now Jack didn’t want to get into a brawl with Rhys in the middle of the hub but he was angry and frustrated so it wasn’t easy to reign in his temper. There was work to do, he reminded himself, an alien that needed saving. Determined to put up with Gwen’s fiancé, Jack came back to himself only to notice he was stood nose to nose with him. There really only was one thing he could say, he turned his head slightly so he could look at Gwen and tried to diffuse some of the tension, “This is quite homoerotic.”

“No, no, no, no,” he couldn’t tell if Gwen was disagreeing about the homoeroticism or the suggestion that her fiancé was getting invested in their case, “No, Jack, he is not getting us in.” Ah, so it was the latter then.

“Team meeting.” Jack pointed at Rhys as he walked away, “You too.”


	35. Scooby Doo

In the conference room Tosh had laid out various blueprints of the warehouse by the time Ianto came back in with the coffee’s Jack had stiltedly asked him to make. Their day had barley started and the tension between them was thick in the air. He hated it when he and Jack had a disagreement, it messed up their whole working relationship and Ianto was done trying to keep up the false pretences that he wasn’t mad with his partner. Even Owen had commented on it as he offered to help him carry the coffees, “So how long are mummy and daddy going to keep fighting?” He prodded as Ianto glared at him, “What?”

“I better not be the mum in that scenario” He said as he propped the door open for his teammate, ignoring his question and following him closely so he could swap the mugs he gave out to the wrong people, “How’s it going Gwen?” He asked quietly as he handed over her coffee, not wanting to disturb Tosh and Jack who were going over some of the blueprints across the table

“Rhys is just showing us where the alien is being stored” She nodded at the table where Rhys was doing just that but she didn’t look very pleased.

“That’s the sedatives room.” He flipped through a couple of pages, “And that’s where they hang and pack all the meat.”

Owen levered himself down into a chair and started twirling a pen around, “That’s good to know.”

“Yeah, that is good to know.” Gwen agreed, standing her ground as she crossed her arms at the head of the table, “but he’s not driving us in.”

Rhys seemed to have other ideas, “They’re expecting me. You lot can hide in the back of the van.” 

“What is this,” Gwen scoffed, “Scooby-Doo?”

Subtly making a note to google what a ‘scooby-doo’ was later, Ianto sat down as well and decided to see how this played itself out. Jack would probably insert himself into the argument at some point and in all honesty Ianto was tired of all the domestics, he was going to keep well out of it and just roll with the punches.

“Absolutely no way is he getting involved.” Gwen continued

“Oh, where was I when you to decided to get involved?” Ianto had to admit Rhys had a good point, “Did you give me a thought?”

“Oh joy,” Owen made eye contact with Ianto across the table and stole the words right out of his mouth, “a domestic.” 

“Rhys is right.” And here came Jack inserting himself, Ianto thought to himself, he should have taken bets, “He’s our best way in. Stun guns only.”

Owen threw his arms up, “We’ve handled bigger than this. Why don’t we just storm in, guns in the air, and arrest them?” Another great point, Ianto wondered if he shouldn’t start making a tally chart to see who came out on top in the end, maybe he could enlist Tosh to help him.

It was like a tennis match, shots were being taken in all directions and Ianto didn’t know who was going to pipe up next, “Those men aren’t organised criminals.” He should have known it would have been Jack, “If we go in, guns blazing, they’ll kill the evidence and run.”

“I wasn’t suggesting blazing,” Owen pouted, “just waving.”

Jack gave him a look that clearly told him to behave, “The last thing we need is a bloodbath.”

Leaning back in his chair, Owen conceded, “Point taken.”

“I know that.” Gwen added and Ianto was glad they all agreed on one thing at least as he glanced at Toshiko and Rhys who had been quiet for some time now.

“Once Rhys has loaded up, he can clear.” Jack told Gwen, a look of understanding flickering across his face, “You don’t have to come, you can stand down.”

Tosh sat forward, leaning her elbows on the table as she spoke to Gwen, “It might be better.”

Jack glanced briefly at Ianto, his shoulders sagging slightly as if some of the fight within him had left, he would have missed it if he hadn’t been looking right at him, “You love him.” Jack pointedly didn’t look at Ianto as he spoke but it the meaning behind his words was heard loud and clear, “Makes you vulnerable.” How many times had he been compromised in the field knowing that Ianto was in danger? How many times had he been forced to ask himself the lengths he would go to in order to keep the man he loved safe? Could he put Ianto’s life in danger to save someone else’s? It was hard enough for him to deal with these questions constantly running through his head, he didn’t want Gwen to have to deal with them as well. Ianto hadn’t been given much choice when it came to working for Torchwood, it had been by order of the crown that he ended up in the archives but Rhys? Rhys could still walk away.

Gwen just proved his point, “He’s not going in there without me.” He would have made the same choice but that didn’t mean it was the right one

“That’s your decision.” Jack couldn’t take responsibility if Gwen got herself hurt trying to protect Rhys, if she was going to put herself in danger for him that was her choice but unlike him she wouldn’t come back if she gave her life for the man she loved.

“Yes, it is.” Gwen agreed

“You both have to live by it.” He warned her, trying to get his point across. This wasn’t a game, this was their life and there was a very real danger that it could be put in serious danger if they weren’t careful.

“Oh, come on.” Rhys tried to persuade her, “You and me, a team-”

“Damn it, Rhys! This is for real. Do you understand that?” She demanded “This is for real. And if you mess up, I will kill you.”

An awkward silence fell over the table until Toshiko cleared her throat and attempted to push through it, “So,” she pushed her glasses up her nose, “After we’ve stun-gunned the workers, we put the creature out of its misery.”

“No.” Jack smirked as a room full of heads snapped towards him in shock, “We’re gonna save it. Stabilise it, wait for the Rift to open and send it back.”

That, theoretically, sounded great but Ianto was still allowing himself to cut loose and speak freely, “Guess who’ll have to look after it in the meantime.” No one said anything giving Ianto the distinct impression that he would indeed become an alien zookeeper in the near future, either that or everyone was ignoring him

Tosh was more reasonable in her line of inquiry, “Tell me exactly how are we going to use it to arm ourselves against the future?”

“We can always hide behind it.” Owen offered

While he and Jack might not be on the best of terms right now, Ianto did reluctantly have to agree with him, “Why shouldn’t we save it?” He asked the table, “Because it’s an alien? It needs our protection.”

“You didn’t hear its cry.” Rhys told him, “Heartbreaking.”

“Listen to Ahab.” Ianto shot back, quite pleased with his current pop culture reference as Owen ducked his head to hide a smile

“Jack,” Tosh tried to be reasonable, “it’s growing.” 

A man on a mission, Jack would not be deterred, especially since he had Ianto’s apparent support in his decision, “Well, we’ll find a way to stop it mutating. We are doing this. That’s an order.”

“Got it,” Owen nodded and left the conference room, some people had work to do after all

Ianto stood up as well, setting down his cup as he went for broke, “I’ll stock up on plankton.” He offered Toshiko warm look as she smiled back at him, at least someone had found his attempts at humour amusing.


	36. Worth the Fight

Owen looked up from his work as Toshiko came to a halt beside his desk with a plate of sandwiches and a soft smile, “Hey, what’s that your working on then?” After the charged atmosphere they’d been forced to stew in during the team meeting it was rather nice to just take a minute and chat with Owen. While Ianto was one of her closest friends and Gwen had definitely grown on her, for the longest time it had just been her, Owen and Susie most days in the hub while Jack was out doing god knows what and sometimes, if she was being honest, she missed it.

“Oh, it’s just an idea of what it looks like.” Owen showed her, “I had it made up from the genetic make-up.”

“It looks lovely.” She teased him, “You’re just a big softie, really, aren’t you?”

“Hey,” he pointed a finger at her menacingly but the smile tugging at his lips gave him away, “Those sandwiches better be for me Sato, I might be a dad nowadays but lets not forget what a pain in the arse I can be if I put my mind to it”

“Cheese and pickle, just the way you like them.” She handed the sandwiches over and glanced down at the unfinished report on his desk, “Need some help with that? No offence but you look exhausted”

Having just taken a huge bite of his sandwich, Owen motioned for her to hang on for a second while he swallowed, “Really, would you mind?” He asked, honestly relived when Tosh snatched up his paperwork with a kind smile, “Thanks Tosh, I’m knackered.”

“Nathan is it?” Toshiko asked as she looked over what little Owen had filled in, she might actually finish it quicker if she started from scratch, his writing was near illegible

Stifling a yawn, Owen nodded, “Yeah, Dianne reckons he’s teething but nothing we seem to do is helping the poor bugger. It seems like lately all I’ve been doing is coming to work, going home and trying to cheer up a second whinging baby.” He told her, pointedly glancing at Jack’s office, chuckling along with Toshiko as she laughed, “Seriously though, what I wouldn’t give for a proper night out where I don’t have to constantly worry about Weevils and changing nappies” 

“It can’t be that hard to find a babysitter can it?” Tosh made a few rough notes, splitting her attention between Owen and his report, “We could go for a game of pool sometime, a Torchwood Tournament. You could bring Dianne, I could ask Beth and…” she glanced over at Rhys and Gwen who were chatting across the hub, “Well since Rhys knows about us now I don’t see the harm in inviting him along as well”

Swallowing another mouthful of food, Owen nodded, “You know what Tosh? I think you’re onto something, that’s not a half bad idea.”

Over on the ancient hub sofa Rhys was shaking his head as Gwen held his hand firmly between them, of all the things she could have found herself tangled up in, his Gwen had to land herself in a job that meant she captured aliens for a living, “I thought you worked for anti-terrorism or something.” Rhys tried to reason with her, “That was bad enough, but knowing you’re in this much danger-”

“Yeah, you’d feel like I do now.” Gwen sighed, “Worried sick. You don’t have to do this to prove anything to me.” The last thing she wanted was Rhys putting himself in harms way to try and validate something that didn’t even matter. She just wanted him safe.

Trying to lighten the mood, Rhys scoffed, “I’m not leaving you here with all these sexy young men.”

“There’s only one from where I’m sitting.” She told him, leaning in for a kiss, only pulling away when Ianto walked past her swiftly with Jack hot on his heels. While that certainly couldn’t be good Gwen had her own priorities right then, there was no need to insert herself into their drama while she was trying to sort out her own, “I love you Rhys, I really do and-”

“I love you too, we can do this as long as we stick together.” Rhys pressed a kiss to her knuckles, “Just trust me, yeah?”

“Okay, I trust you” Gwen nodded, it’s not like she had much of a choice anyway.

Meanwhile down in the corridor that lead to the archives, Jack had manage to trap Ianto in one of the unused storage rooms. He’d ben trying to talk to him since he walked out of the meeting but Mr Jones could be slippery as a serpent when he wanted to avoid something. Too bad for him that Jack could out stubborn him any day, he refused to go into the field before figuring whatever this was between them out, “Ianto, can you just stop for a minute and talk to me?” He begged, not moving to invade his person space even as he wanted to shake some answers out of him, “Come on, it’s _me_.”

“Exactly,” Ianto finally snapped but even then he was whispering in a hushed tone, “it’s _you_ Jack, can’t you just accept that I don’t want to talk to you right now? We have a job to do.”

“Why can’t you ever just tell me what’s wrong?” Jack demanded, already regretting the words that were about to spew out of his mouth but it was too late, “Honestly it’s worse than having another bloody wife-”

Angry didn’t even begin to cover it, how could such a small word even hope to encompass what Ianto was feeling? He was furious, he felt belittled, ignored, pushed to his breaking point and so, so tired. It wasn’t enough that Jack had aired their dirty laundry in front of the other earlier, it wasn’t enough that he had tried to kick him off the mission like a rookie who couldn’t handle himself, it wasn’t even enough that he had forced him into a corner and tried to push an issue that Ianto had repeatedly told him they would talk about later. 

No, Jack had to go and throw the memory of Lisa in his face. The way he saw it he had two options, he could walk away or he could stay and hash this out with Jack. Neither of which seemed all too appealing to be honest.

“Ianto,” Jack reached out a hand but faltered halfway when his lover just glared at him, never in his life had Jack’s heart shattered so painfully. It was one thing to think the love of his life was dead, lost forever or in mortal danger facing down a weevil or the like but to see actual, undisguised hatred in Ianto’s eyes was something else. It was a look he’d never seen before, even in their worst of times and he hated that he’d put it there, “I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t.” Ianto gritted out between his teeth, “Just. _Don’t_ ”

“I-”

“We’re not doing this, I’m not doing this. Not here, not now” He snapped, “Understand? We have a job to do, there is a creature currently imprisoned in a warehouse being tortured and the more time we spend standing around arguing and insulting one another the longer that creature is in pain” he couldn't deal with this right now, never before in his entire life had he wanted Jackson to just go away, “I can’t deal with you right now, we need to focus on the mission.”

“We can sort everything else out after? Right?” Jack asked as Ianto walked stiffly to the door to leave, “I shouldn’t have done this at work but we can talk about everything later at home?”

“You know what Jack?” Ianto felt tears welling up in his eyes but he refused to acknowledge them or let them fall, “I’m not even sure if it’s worth the fight at this point.” And with that last parting blow that almost had Jack’s knee’s giving out from under him, Ianto walked away without a second glance.


	37. Just Fine

Rhys wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea of taking Captain Cocky into work in the first place, scared he might contaminate it with alien... weirdness, but that was before he turned up with a look of thunder in his eyes that Rhys really didn’t want to mess with. Looks like he’d just have to suck it up. He had to wonder what had put the Captain in such a horrid mood, he’d been fine earlier.

“Sure about this?” Jack asked gruffly, as if on autopilot, following Rhys through the Harwood’s yard towards his office, “Because once they ring, there’s no turning back.”

“Yeah, I’m sure” Rhys confirmed as he entered the code for the office and let Jack through in front of him. It was too late to back out now anyway, he refused to let Gwen march into the danger he had seen first hand and stand idly by twirling his thumbs. He could do this, he had to do this, “Morning Ruth.” He nodded at his assistant and gestured for Jack to sit down, which he declined to do, preferring to stand.

Ruth, once she had her fill eyeing up their guest, turned back to Rhys, “You just missed the advert.”

“Yeah?” Rhys wasn’t really paying attention, “Just popped in for my jacket and to sign for a van.”

It was fine though because Ruth didn’t seem to notice in the slightest, “Here’s your tea. And I got you a Danish, your favourite.” 

“I’m in the wrong job.” Jack joked, the words leaving his mouth without much thought as he drew attention to himself

“We have got job vacancies.” Ruth told him eagerly

Smirking, Jack fell back onto his old habits and started flirting, “Maybe you could fit me in.”

Ruth didn’t seem to mind, “I’d be delighted to.”

“Would I need a licence for trucking?” Jack knew their was no harm in a little flirt every now and then so why did he feel like his heart wasn’t in it anymore?

“Yes.” Ruth said, “It takes four weeks, and then you can go long distance.”

It felt like he was just going through the motions, “That wouldn’t be a problem.” Even as Ruth’s eyes went wide and he watched her scuttle off, it just didn’t give him the same buzz as he was used to.

Rhys’ mobile pulled him back down to earth soon enough though, the harsh buzzing sound loud enough to penetrate the thick walls Jack had erected around his mind. Rhys checked the number and nodded, “It’s them.” Once he got the go ahead from Jack he answered and tried to keep his cool, “Yeah, hello?” Gwen was counting on him.

-

Tosh nervously poked her head around Jack’s office door just in time to see Ianto hanging up the phone with a strange expression on his face that she couldn’t quite place. It was obvious that he and Jack were having some sort of argument, about what she had no idea but as Ianto’s friend she felt it was her place to lend him an ear, “Hey Ianto, everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine” Ianto closed his eyes for a moment as his voice wobbled, clearing his throat as he held up a hand and insisted in a firmer tone, “I’m _fine_ Toshiko, thank you.” He’d just been on the phone with his counsellor, Dr Green, to schedule an appointment. He felt like he was coming apart at the seams and as much as he hated to admit it, he needed some help pulling himself back together again.

Logically he knew his argument with Jack had blown well out of proportion but knowing something and feeling something was a completely different matter. He felt one blow away from a complete breakdown, overwhelming emotions bubbling just beneath the surface but he was fine. He was always fine because he had to be. If he wasn’t fine he’d be a sobbing mess on the floor and that just wouldn’t do so he was fine instead, he told himself repeatedly, just fine.

“Don’t we have a van to be climbing into?” He prompted when Toshiko just stood quietly staring at him, there was work to do after all. He could deal with his personal issues later.

-

Inside the van, the pick up booked, Rhys couldn’t hold his tongue any longer, “Why her?” He blurted, interruption the awe award silence that had fallen over them like a heavy blanket, “Out of all the women you could have chosen-”

“She chose us.” Jack corrected him, “Kind of stumbled upon us.”

Scoffing, Rhys shook his head, “So did I, doubt you’ll be asking me to join.”

Jack hadn’t even thought about it, Gwen broke through the retcon, she saw Susie kill him and the subsequent revival, he had needed to keep her close, “We needed someone with police skills.” As it turned out Gwen had grown into a valued member of the team, it didn’t matter why or how he’d gone about hiring her, like the others, all that mattered was the work they did here and now, the lives they saved every day just by coming into work. That is what mattered.

“Could have chosen anyone. Did you ever think about us?” Rhys asked him, “You know, me, her parents, people who love her, who want her safe?”

“No, sorry,” Jack sighed, looking out of the window as he brooded, “but she was never safe in the first place, no one is. People… life is so short, we might as well live it before we die. On her first day of work, she told me off for being too clinical.”

Rhys snorted, “She doesn’t hold back, mind.”

“Hmm.” Jack laughed along with him, “Stubborn as hell.”

“Tell me about it. Yeah,” Rhys’s tone grew softer as a lovesick expression glazed over his face, “She’s an amazing girl. I’m a lucky man, Jack.”

He couldn’t really argue with him, “Yeah, you said it.”

“I just wish you were a bit uglier.” Rhys laughed, “At least you’ve got Ianto, don’t really have to worry, aye?” He realised almost immediately that he’d said the wrong thing, Jack’s expression closing off, his whole body turned in on itself as if he was in physical pain, “Jack?”

“Just drive.”

-

The plan was simple, the team hid in the back of Rhys’ van while he drove them to the warehouse, once they arrived they would have to sneak into the building, locate the alien prisoner and free it without causing too many casualties. Owen was going to prepare an antidote for the creature while Ianto covered him, leaving Jack, Tosh and Gwen to take the main area while Rhys waited outside where he would be safe.

The atmosphere was tense inside the back of the van as Rhys pulled to a halt, Ianto was pointedly ignoring Jack’s searching looks and kept an Owen shaped buffer between them at all times, “Hey,” Jack hissed, Grabbing Ianto’s arm as they crept out of the van towards the building, “Ianto-”

“Not now,” he hissed back, “We have work to do”

“Would you just listen to me?” Jack pushed him against the wall, gesturing for Owen to lead the girls ahead as he pinned Ianto’s arms by his side while he struggled, “I can’t go on like this, if something happens in there I- I can’t go in and risk everything while we’re fighting”

“Get off me!” Ianto snapped, keeping his voice quiet so they weren’t caught but Jack heard the hint of panic in his tone and let go after a second of debate, “Pull yourself together Jack, we have a job to do, you’re better than this.” Pushing him off, Ianto hurried to follow after Gwen with Jack hot on his heels with a clearer head. He was right, when wasn’t he? Jack needed to focus on the task at hand, they could sort things out later, they had to, it was _Ianto._

**Author's Note:**

> So you know the drill, tell me what you think in the comments :) I love to hear what you think be it praise or criticism! I’ll be posting every two to three days or so with this one as my schedule grows more and more jam packed so I hope you can be patient with me


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